This was made up of 1,290 compulsory liquidations, up 19.8% on the previous quarter and 2,943 creditors’ voluntary liquidations down 3.3% on the previous quarter.
Andries Smit, founder of SMEDiscounts, said: “The Insolvency Service data clearly shows that businesses are suffering. The fact that almost 20% more businesses were in such a poor state that they were forced to liquidate is a worrying indictment of our economic state.
"The last time we saw company liquidations above the 16,000 per annum mark was in 2002, so although liquidations are flat quarter on quarter, this is still significantly higher than pre-recession days.
"Over a quarter of SMEs and sole traders responding to our survey describe their business as being in poor health, so it appears that the worst could be yet to come. Those who lack a great product or innovative approach are not going to be able to climb out of the rubble left behind by the economic implosion of recent years.
"It's notable how many self-employed individuals are going bankrupt. There is an increase in consultants and contractors being laid off by big businesses and at the same time there are head count freezes in big corporations, leaving them nowhere to go.”
Brian Johnson, insolvency partner at HW Fisher & Company, said: "The sharp spike in compulsory liquidations reflects the more aggressive stance of the Revenue, which is now calling in its debts and forcing struggling companies into a formal insolvency process.
"This is the beginning of the end for the thousands of zombie companies out there.
"Although the number of company insolvencies has risen during the second quarter, we expect activity to really pick up speed during the second half of the year.
"And remember that these insolvency figures, bad enough in themselves, don't include businesses that wind themselves up, and so don't tell the full story.
"Last month, data from Companies House revealed that record numbers of firms are going out of business without formally filing for insolvency.
"This tells us that they have been so badly hit that there is no point even carrying out a salvage mission.
"Meanwhile, the banks continue to claim they're doing their bit by lending to business. But despite their insistence that they're open for business and the targets set them by Project Merlin, the fact is they will not lend to businesses that are not bankable.
"Looking at the wider economic picture, the prospects for growth in the short and medium term are very poor and the consumer is on the rack. This bodes ill for companies that are anything less than robust.
"What we are also seeing is that the pain is being spread unevenly. Scotland, Yorkshire and North East England have all fared far worse than the South East."
On individual insolvencies, Johnson said: "Creditors continue to avoid the nuclear option. They can spend money bankrupting people but then they won't get their money back anyway.
"Once again, we are seeing debtors opt for cheaper, non-bankruptcy-type solutions such as Debt Relief Orders.
"For the time being they are biding their time but when asset values do finally rise, creditors will see an opportunity to get their money back and may well make their move."
