Insolvency fall is 'calm before the storm'
02 November 2007
The number of people being declared insolvent over the past three months has fallen in England and Wales, while home repossessions have also dipped, latest figures reveal.
In the third quarter of the year the number of insolvencies fell by three per cent on the previous quarter, with a total of 26,072 individuals declaring themselves insolvent, data from the Insolvency Service shows.
Year-on-year, there has been a five per cent drop in the number of people declared insolvent in the three months to the end of September.
Commenting on the results, Mike Gerrard, head of personal insolvency at accountancy firm Grant Thornton, described the fall in insolvencies as "the calm before the storm".
He added: "If Sir Philip Green's predictions of a slow down in consumer spending next year prove correct, then I expect we will see a leap in personal insolvencies by the first quarter of 2008 as creditors tighten their belts and increase their rates of refusal on debt management options such as remortgaging."
Meanwhile, separate figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal the number of mortgage repossessions in England and Wales fell by one per cent since last year to 23,806.
