Monthly insolvency statistics released by the Insolvency Service indicate that company insolvencies are beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels - a trend which will no doubt be intensified by the partial relaxation of restrictions on winding up petitions at the end of September. 

A total of 1,446 company insolvencies were recorded for the month of September - the highest since the start of the first UK lockdown in March 2020 and only 4% lower than the figures for September 2019. Company voluntary liquidations (CVLs) represent a huge majority - 1,328 in total - of these company failures, with other insolvency procedures remaining at lower levels. After 18 months of extraordinary pressures, the end of the furlough scheme on 30 September may well have been the final straw needed to tip many companies into insolvency. 

The new procedures introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 remain relatively niche - with only 14 companies having used the moratorium, and only 9 restructuring plans registered at Companies House. It will be interesting to see if use of the moratorium gains momentum, particularly with small-medium enterprises, in the coming months.