The number of IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements) registered in July jumped by 27% compared with the same month a year earlier, according to Insolvency Service figures.
Across England and Wales, 7,442 IVAs were registered in July, which was a 27% increase compared with July 2025.
IVAs are a type of personal insolvency and they are agreements whereby money is shared out between creditors.
The Insolvency Service report said: “With the exception of December 2025, which was affected by the clearing of a backlog of cases that were agreed in previous months, this is the highest monthly number of IVAs since November 2022.”
In the 12 months to July 31 2026, 59% of personal insolvencies were IVAs, 35% were DROs (debt relief orders), and 6% were bankruptcies.
In the previous 12 months, ending in July 2025, 56% of personal insolvencies were IVAs, 38% were DROs, and 6% were bankruptcies.
Overall in July 2026, 11,926 people entered insolvency in England and Wales, which was 14% higher than in July 2025.
In addition to the 7,442 IVAs registered in July, the total included 3,820 DROs and 664 bankruptcies.
There were also 5,248 breathing spaces registered under the Debt Respite Scheme in July 2026 – 38% lower than in July 2025.
Breathing space schemes help to give people time to get on top of their debts.
Meanwhile, the number of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales was 1,931 in July 2026, 5% higher than in June 2026 but 5% lower than the same month in the previous year.
Andy McGill, a restructuring and insolvency partner at accountancy and business advisory group Azets, said: “For an increasing number of firms, July was the month where the cost of doing business became too heavy.”
He added: “There has been some good news in the retail industry in recent weeks but sales increases are based on volume rather than value.
“With online shopping growing at the expense of traditional retail stores, and hot weather pushing up energy bills as businesses try to keep shoppers cool, margins remain tight at a time when retailers badly need a financial shot in the arm.
“We’re hearing the residential property sector is struggling as the housing market has declined and companies that based their business models on prices increasing find themselves overloaded with debt.
“With flats, in particular, struggling to sell and losing value in some parts of the country, this is hitting property companies hard and pushing them into the red.
“The construction sector is also continuing to struggle with increased wage bills, shrinking margins, delays in projects starting and legacy contracts whose slim profits have eroded to the point they become losses.”
