Southampton: City bucks coastal trend as personal insolvency rates fall

Analysis of insolvency statistics for 2016 show that Southampton’s rates of personal insolvency continued to decline for the third year running, says insolvency and restructuring trade body R3.

The 2016 statistics show that Southampton has a little over 16 in every 10,000 adults entering some form of formal insolvency procedure, a decline from 16.7 in 2015 and down from 29.9 in 2011 – a reduction of 46% in the past five years. Hampshire also continued a steady decline of 34% in the past five years.

Mike Pavitt, chairman of the Southern Committee of R3 and corporate restructuring and insolvency partner at Paris Smith LLP solicitors, Southampton commented: “The latest regional personal insolvency statistics demonstrate that Southampton really bucks the nationwide trend of insolvency rates which are typically higher in coastal locations, and in many places increasing. Higher rates in pockets along the South Coast are often associated with lower than average wages and higher levels of unemployment coupled with exposure to the seasonal nature of the tourism industry, whereas Southampton itself is reasonably well insulated from cyclical shocks with its much more diverse economy and year-round destination appeal.”

Nationally, the statistics demonstrated that women continued to be more likely to enter an insolvency procedure than men.

“It would be wrong to suggest that this is because women are profligate compared to men when it comes to spending. Indeed, the insolvency procedure often associated with consumer spending – an Individual Voluntary Arrangement – is used by men and women at roughly the same rate.”

Pavitt explained: “The big differences come when you look at the numbers of Debt Relief Orders (DROs) and bankruptcies. Women are much more likely than men to use a DRO, which is designed to help people with assets under £1,000 who are unable to pay comparatively low value debts."