The number of insolvent companies in England and Wales hit its highest in more than five years in the second quarter of 2019, according to data today that showed businesses under rising financial pressure as Brexit nears, Reuters reported. The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said 4,321 companies entered insolvency in the April-June period on an underlying basis, excluding bulk closures of personal service companies. This was up from 4,213 in the first quarter and marked the largest total since early 2014. The figures showed fewer personal insolvencies, chiming with other data that show resilience among consumers but a muted picture of the business economy. The number of personal insolvencies continued to decline after striking an eight-year high at the end of 2018, dropping to 30,937 in England and Wales in the second quarter from 31,346 in the first three months of 2019, the Insolvency Service said.
