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The number of people becoming financially bankrupt is increasing England And wales was 7% higher in September than a year earlier, according to insolvency service Figures.
Some 11,101 people became bankrupt in England and Wales, which was 3% less than in August 2025 but 7% more than in September 2024.
This was made up of 622 bankruptcies, 3,985 debt relief orders (DROs) and 6,494 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).
The service said DRO numbers in September 2025 were 5% below the record high seen in August 2025, but remain at historically high levels seen over the past 18 months.
The £90 admin fee for obtaining a DRO was abolished in April 2024.
In June 2024, the DRO eligibility criteria were expanded.
The loan limit was increased from £30,000 to £50,000 and the allowable value of an exempt motor vehicle was increased from £2,000 to £4,000.
The number of IVAs registered in September 2025 was higher than the average monthly number seen in the first half of 2025.
bankruptcy The numbers remained at about half of pre-2020 levels but were 9% higher than in September 2024.
There were also 7,684 “breathing space” registrations under the debt relief scheme in September 2025, representing an increase of 12% compared to September 2024.
This includes 7,589 “standard” registrations and 95 mental health registrations, which provide additional protection to people.
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Breathing spaces give people time to recover from their debts.
There were 2,000 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales in September 2025, the same level as in both August 2025 (2,046) and the same month last year (1,967 in September 2024).
The Insolvency Service said the monthly company insolvency number in the first nine months of 2025 was slightly higher than in 2024 and at the same level as 2023, which saw a 30-year high annual number of insolvencies.
Sarah Rayment, managing director and global co-head of restructuring at Kroll, said: “Without a doubt, 2025 has been a difficult year for businesses so far.
“Geopolitics and tariffs have created significant headaches, along with the recent threat of cyber attacks.
“Overall, we are seeing some degree of resilience across companies, but clearly there are specific challenges within sectors. 2025 has been a particularly difficult year for retailers, but we are seeing more distress in sectors such as professional services and automotive.
“Businesses are looking to the Chancellor Budget “It remains to be seen whether she will announce measures that will not only support growth but also ease the existing pressure on companies.”
Matthew Richards, joint head of restructuring and insolvency at accountancy and business advisory group Assets, said businesses were “concerned about the ongoing impact on the economy and their ability to reduce losses due to the tax burden”.
He added: “Anyone who is concerned about their finances should seek advice as soon as possible.
“This is an incredibly difficult conversation to have, but doing it when your problems are early on gives you more options and a better chance of addressing your issues than if you had waited until the problem became more severe.”