Bankruptcies reach record levels

[T_i_B]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8028386.stm

The number of people being declared bankrupt in England and Wales has hit a new record, according to the government's Insolvency Service.

In the first three months of the year there were a record 19,062 bankruptcies and 10,713 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).

The number of companies going bust in England and Wales fell back in the first three months of the year. However the figures were still 54% higher than a year ago.

The insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor predicted that personal insolvencies might rise above 125,000 this year. "This reflects both the stresses of high levels of personal debt and rising unemployment and a record number of entrepreneurs going bankrupt on the back of their business's failure," said the firm's chairman Ric Traynor.