§ Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms in the United Kingdom have ceased trading since May 1997. [145728]
§ Dr. HowellsNo figures are available from Companies House for the number of firms that have ceased trading over the period in question. However, their records confirm that 58,384 limited companies went into liquidation over the period from May 1997 to December 2000. Of these, 9,838 were voluntary members liquidations, 31,649 were voluntary creditors liquidations and 16,897 were compulsory liquidations. Almost 400,000 companies were dissolved over the same period, but many of these may never have traded.