In our 40th Insolvency by the Numbers, we look at our data set for March 2024. We review at how the month has tracked compared to prior months and years.

Company Insolvencies – Liquidations, Receiverships, and Voluntary Administrations

March 2024 insolvency appointments continue the trend seen last month being notably up in March 2023. Total appointments for the month were 291, this is 26% higher than 2023 and almost double each of the years back to 2019. March 2024 is 144 appointments above the long-term average of 147 monthly appointments.

2024 continues showing strong appointment figures exceeding the last 7 years for the cumulative total of the 3 months to date. As predicted March figures were up and we expect that they will be revised higher in our next article as late advertisers continue to come in over April, this occurs every year especially around solvent appointments.

We continue to see an increase in enquiries as we enter the 2nd quarter of the year. This continues to be a combination of formal insolvency appointments and informal insolvency advice and work outs.

As a percentage spread compared to the average, we have seen solvent liquidations in line with previous March figures. As a percentage, appointment types were in line with the long-term average with slight rises in Voluntary Administrations and Receiverships appointments driven largely by 2 large group appointments of each type.

We expect increase in appointment numbers detailed above to continue throughout 2024.

Winding Up Applications

March 2024 saw a significant flux, with a total of 85 winding-up applications tallied. Among these, 33 were attributed to company winding-ups, while 52 were linked to proceedings initiated by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). This data signifies a noticeable increase compared to March 2023, which recorded 56 total applications.

It has now been 12 month since the IRD advertised less winding up applications than every other non-creditor combined. The IRD continues its drive to collect the current level of arrears from delinquent debtors.

This marks a notable escalation from March 2023, which saw 56 applications in total. While there has been a drop away from February’s highs this is in line with past years but was also likely the result of the easter long weekend falling into March of this year rather than April as it has in past years allowing for less advertising days in the month.

Personal Insolvencies – Bankruptcy, No Asset Procedure and Debt Repayment Orders.

In February 2024, there were 58 bankruptcy filings, 34 no asset procedures, and 7 debt repayment orders, totalling 99. Personal insolvency figures remain stagnant as seen over the past few years. We expect that we will not see a significant rise in personal insolvency till into the 2nd half of 2024.

Where to from here?

The signs continue to point to the NZ economy being in for continued pain for the foreseeable future with it likely to get worse before it gets better, we foresee continued rising appointments when compared to prior years months as the year progresses. The OCR is unlikely to be dropped in the next 6 months potentially 1 year and inflation continues to be above the target of 2% and may be for some years with non-tradable inflation refusing to come under control.

If you want to have a chat about any points raised or an issue you may have you can call on 0800 30 30 34 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In our 39th Insolvency by the Numbers, we look at our data set for February 2024. We review at how the month has tracked compared to prior months and years.

Notable economic events for the month include the Reserve Bank keeping the Official Cash Rate level at 5.5 percent with no change to when we may begin seeing a drop in the rate in 2025. Economists are of the opinion that drops will be sooner than this in the later half of 2024.

The coalition government has come to the end of its first 100 days, having enacted the bulk of their 49 points they set out to implement. While the bulk of these were undoing legislation and changes made by the last labour government we expect that the plan they implement moving forward will likely have some impact on the wider economy rather than undoing the past governments policies.

The housing market however appears to be plateauing as we move away from the summer season and into winter, this is likely the result of continuing higher interest rates above the lower rates experienced over the 2020/2021 calendar years as monetary easing was occurring.

Centrix, a credit reporting agency, has reported in their latest figures that there are currently 450,000+ individuals in arrears with their bills. This is 40,000 up on the prior month and the highest numbers since 2017. With a population over the age of 18 around 4 million people, this puts 1 in 8 people over the age of 18 in arrears with their accounts.

Company Insolvencies – Liquidations, Receiverships, and Voluntary Administrations

February 2024 insolvency appointments saw a jump on previous February’s coming in at 195 appointments 50% higher than each of the last 3 years on average. It was also 52 appointments above the long term average of 143 monthly appointments.

Compared to the first two months of the last 7 years we can see that the year has started strongly with a reasonable January and strong February putting the two monthly total above the last 3 years and in line with 2020 before covid lockdowns were implemented and appointments dried up. We are expecting this to continue into March as historically March posts 25% - 50% more appointment that seen in February, in large part driven by solvent appointments and stakeholders trying to wind matters up before the end of the financial year so they can have a “fresh start”.

Anecdotally we have seen an increase in enquiries into the new year. Interestingly this has been a combination of traditional formal appointments and informal insolvency advice and work outs.

As a percentage spread compared to the average, we have seen less solvent liquidations than the usual average of 22%, February saw them as low as 8% of the total appointments as seen in the below pie chart. Insolvent shareholder appointment liquidations was right on the 50% average while court appointments came in 11% above the long term average of 25%.

This change in percentage spread is likely the result of an increase in creditor pressure and creditor driven liquidation appointments as seen in the below winding up appointments, coupled with tighter economic conditions reducing the number of companies ending up with the cash to distribute to shareholders through a solvent liquidation. We expect this trend to continue throughout 2024.

Of interest the Official Assignee continues to receive more liquidation appointments when compared to any other insolvency firm/entity, as it has continued to do so most of 2023 when the courts are open. Noticeably in February 2024 the Official Assignee received 46 appointment with 45 of these coming by way of the High Court. Of the 45 appointment 39 were on the application of IRD.

Across NZ Licenced Insolvency Practitioners operate out of 56 insolvency practices. In the 2023 calendar year 42 of those 56 insolvency practices took less than the 46 appointments for the whole year, while the Official Assignee took 46 in only one month.

Winding Up Applications

Exploring the winding up applications data, with a focus on February figures, unveils intriguing insights into the state of insolvency in New Zealand. February 2024 witnessed a significant surge, with a total of 108 winding up applications recorded. Among these, 53 were non IRD creditor winding up applications, while 55 were attributed to the IRD and their continued collections push. Historically IRD has started the year behind non IRD creditors in the total winding up application filed with the High Courts, however with the current level of arrears they are attempting to recover and their tough stance against delinquent debtors this puts the IRD on an 11 month continuous run where they have filed more applications each month than non IRD creditors.

This marks a notable escalation from February 2023, which saw 64 applications in total. While we did have one additional day in February 2024 being a leap year we do not believe that this is the reason for the huge leap in applications greater than anything seen in the last few years. It is more than likely a combination of creditors needing debtor recoveries to assist with cashflow in their own business and losing patience with debtors so escalating matters through winding up proceedings, from the IRD perspective they have a long debtor list that requires collection.

Personal Insolvencies – Bankruptcy, No Asset Procedure and Debt Repayment Orders.

In January 2024, there were 25 bankruptcy filings, 21 no asset procedures, and 9 debt repayment orders, totalling 55. January has traditionally been one of the lower months for personal insolvency following the Christmas break and people still being on holiday and ignoring their financial issues. January 2024 has continued the low personal insolvency figures shown throughout 2023 and 2022.

As outlined above while there are 450,000+ individuals with accounts in arrears whether this translates to personal insolvency appointment only time will tell. We expect that we will not see a significant rise till into the 2nd half of 2024.

Where to from here?

The signs continue to point to the NZ economy being in for continued pain for the foreseeable future with it likely to get worse before it gets better, we foresee continued rising appointments as the year progresses. The OCR is unlikely to be dropped in the next 6 months potentially 1 year and inflation continues to be above the target of 2% and may be for some years with non-tradable inflation refusing to come under control.

If you want to have a chat about any points raised or an issue you may have you can call on 0800 30 30 34 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In our 37th Insolvency by the Numbers, we look at our data set for November 2023 and past years to see how the month has tracked and what may be coming up in the coming months.

We now have a coalition sorted giving people an idea of what is in store for the next 3 years, the Reserve Bank has kept the OCR stable and has said that rates will not be coming down till 2025 as expected. With Christmas fast approaching businesses are rushing around trying to complete work for customers before the year end when the customer has had all year to get it sorted but left it to the last minute, so business as normal for this time of year really.

Company Insolvencies – Liquidations, Receiverships, and Voluntary Administrations

As seen in the trend from prior months the elevated appointment level continues rather than peaks and troughs seen over prior years. We did see a slight drop off in appointments from 2022.

The big change for November saw a increase above the long term average of 40 appointments all channelled into insolvent liquidations, anecdotally this could be the result of the election and shareholders realising it has not fixed all their problems and the business is no longer viable so best to deal with it prior to Christmas. All other appointment types were right on their long term average numbers.

With 1 month to go it appears unlikely that 2023 will catch 2017 & 2018 appointments.

Winding Up Applications

As detailed in past months we are seeing a continued consistent increase in figures evening out compared to the usual spike we see in June/July and November. So, a longer sustained lift rather than a spike and drop off.

In November, there has been a consistent shift in the total number of winding up applications compared to past Novembers. For example, in November 2021, there were 33 applications, with 20 being company winding up applications and 13 being IRD winding up applications. November 2022 witnessed a substantial increase, with 98 total applications, including 25 company winding up applications and 73 IRD winding up applications. In November 2023, there were 76 applications, consisting of 22 company winding up applications and 54 IRD winding up applications.

From the below graph we continue to see that IRD’s November 2023 winding up applications now makes up just over 2/3rds of all creditors a jump back up to the June – August split. There are clearly still many delinquent debtors being pursued.

Personal Insolvencies – Bankruptcy, No Asset Procedure and Debt Repayment Orders.

Personal insolvency appointments have finally done something after a lacklustre 2023. Time will tellif this is the start of an upward trend in appointments or just a 1 off instance while we wait for personal insolvencies to mirror corporate and pick up.

Where to from here?

The signs continue to point to the NZ economy being in for continued pain for the foreseeable future with it likely to get worse before it gets better, we foresee continued rising appointment for the next year. The OCR is unlikely to be dropped till mid-2025 and inflation just keeps biting.

If you want to have a chat about any points raised or an issue you may have you can call on 0800 30 30 34 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Insolvency by the Numbers: NZ Insolvency Statistics October 2023

In our 36th Insolvency by the Numbers, we look at our data set for October 2023 and past years to see how the month has tracked and what may be coming up in the coming months.

With October and the election finally at an end, except for specials, we have an indication of what party will be front footing it into the next 3 years. The consensus that came out over the election campaign however was that getting back on the good footing may take some time, with cuts in government spending appearing to be an interesting topic. Whether this happens only time will tell, but hopefully we will see a bit of stability in the housing market and NZ stock market.

Company Insolvencies – Liquidations, Receiverships, and Voluntary Administrations

Company insolvency appointments for October 2023 combined across all insolvency types continue to outnumber all years back to 2019. As seen in the trend from prior months the higher level continues rather than peaks and troughs seen over prior years. We did see a slight drop off in appointments across the middle of the month anecdotally the result of the mid-month election, but it did pick back up after. The month does remain slightly down on the last 4 months appointments however.

As a continuation from prior months court appointments remain elevated. As a comparison the drop is seen in solvent appointments for the month. The increase in court appointment liquidations has continued strongly on the back of steady winding up applications driven by the IRD and its recovery efforts though they did see a slight drop on prior months due potentially to the election.

October total corporate insolvency figures for the year to date have at last exceeded 2019 figures. There are now more appointments in the 10 month to date in 2023 that in the entire 2020, 2021 & 2022 total yearly figures.

The below graph shows the continued separation in corporate and personal insolvency figures as personal insolvency remains at its very low levels.

Notable Appointments: October saw the formal insolvency of Supie, the business coming to an end with its 120 employees after struggling to break into the cutthroat food retail industry.,

Winding Up Applications

October saw a continuation on from September but continues to be above past Octobers. As mentioned last month while it is below June and August figures it is likely the result of a continued consistent increase in figures evening out compared to the usual spike we see in June/July and November. So, a longer sustained lift rather than a spike and drop off.

In October, there has been a consistent fluctuation in the total number of winding up applications compared to past Octobers. For example, in October 2021, there were 39 applications, with 14 being company winding up applications and 25 being IRD winding up applications. October 2022 saw a higher total with 69 applications, including 7 company winding up applications and 62 IRD winding up applications. In October 2023, there were 82 applications, consisting of 33 company winding up applications and 49 IRD winding up applications.

When considering the year-to-date figures, we observe a continuous increase in the cumulative total of winding up applications. From January to October, the numbers have consistently grown over the years, reflecting a persistent upward trend.

From the below graph we continue to see that IRD’s October 2023 winding up applications now makes up just over 60% of all creditors and continues at the reduced portion of application seen last month. Whether this is the result of the upcoming election and a wind back in action by IRD or the wind down in the lead up to Christmas will become evident in the coming months.

Personal Insolvencies – Bankruptcy, No Asset Procedure and Debt Repayment Orders.

Personal insolvency appointments remain low and continue come in lower that the last 5 years September figures. This is not expected to change until the personal guarantees start to get called up by creditors in liquidations (landlords, trade creditors banks etc), and lending taken out on high interest rate loans to meet increasing cost of living catches up with people, often after the Christmas holidays and the first credit card bills come in over February.

Where to from here?

The signs continue to point to the NZ economy being in for continued pain for the foreseeable future with it likely to get worse before it gets better. The OCR is unlikely to be dropped till mid-2025 and inflation just keeps biting.

If you want to have a chat about any points raised or an issue you may have you can call on 0800 30 30 34 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..