Record number going broke in recession

A total of 134,142 people went bankrupt or took out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Debt Relief Order (DRO) during the year –the highest level since records began in 1960.

Company liquidations also reached a 16-year high of 19,077 during the year, although there was a slowdown in the rate at which companies went under during the final quarter, the Insolvency Service said yesterday.

The record level of personal insolvencies dwarfed the previous high of 107,288 set in 2006, with insolvency practitioners estimating this level had already been passed by October last year.

They expect personal insolvencies to continue rising this year to reach 150,000.