After a long period when the number of CCJs issued against businesses was in decline, the third quarter saw a sharp increase. This suggests that companies are currently far more willing to take their claims as far as a CCJ than they have been for quite some time.
32,629 business CCJs were issued in the third quarter of 2018, which was up 32 per cent on the same quarter in the previous year.
Part of the reason may be that it is easier now than in the past to register a CCJ and certainly cheaper than some insolvency proceedings. Even back in 2015 a survey by Experian found that businesses were more likely to take advantage of what had become a more simplified process.
The rise could mean and indeed the data suggests that SMEs are more willing to go down the CCJ route in their debt recovery process rather than seek alternative ways. Often this can be down to a lack of awareness of the options available.
There is certainly is no guarantee that the court will issue a CCJ and much depends on the details of a particular case. In some cases, the process may be cheaper than other insolvency proceedings but might still be costly compared to outsourcing to an experienced debt recovery firm.