Insolvency & Restructuring Market Insights H2 2022

Amid turbulent times across the UK, the insolvency & restructuring market seems to be getting increasingly busy.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, interest rates and inflation both on the rise, a new prime minister on the way and an impending energy price hike, the forecast for the UK economy looks rocky at best.

The insolvency service has reported insolvencies and bankruptcies hitting their highest levels since the financial crash in 08/09.

No doubt this has been down to a combination of factors and having spoken to a number of Insolvency Practitioners, we believe this will continue for the rest of 2022 and well into 2023.

Skills in demand

Across the hiring market, we’ve seen a noticeable uptick in the last few months, with firms looking to grow their teams, particularly at their more junior levels, in anticipation of a busy few months ahead.

The most in-demand level is at the Administrator level which is a slight shift compared to the past few years.

Interestingly, we have also seen more firms looking to bring on new appointment takers, perhaps viewing this shift in the market as a great time to grow their existing practices.

View our latest vacancies here >

Predictions for the next 12 months

While the market has already been starting to pick up, the second half of 2022 is almost certainly going to be even more busy with 91% of our clients expecting to be busier in H2 compared to H1.

With the increased workload, this will mean an increased amount of hiring, with 60% of our clients planning to hire before the end of 2022.

After a couple of years of uncertainty, people appear to now be ready to make career changes with 65% of insolvency & restructuring professionals expecting to change jobs before the end of this year.

Advice for employers

Employers need to be able to move quickly to secure talent as there is a significant shortage of candidates and the good ones will be snapped up quickly.

When it comes to salary negotiations, make the best possible offer first. Candidates are more aware of their market rate and are becoming more savvy when it comes to negotiating their salaries. If you're unsure of the current market rates, take a look at our latest salary guide for insolvency & restructuring.

With this being such a job seekers’ market, staff retention has never been more important so we advise any hiring managers to really focus on this area. Do feel free to reach out to us for guidance on this.

Advice for jobseekers

There has never been a better time to be a job seeker, especially if you are in the first few years of your career. Employers are in desperate need of people with 1- 4 years’ experience.

Our advice for insolvency & restructuring professionals at this level is to keep close tabs on salary guides (you can download our latest salary guide here) and to be open to better offers as at some point the market will cool down again.

When interviewing, be clear on exactly what factors are important to you, whether this be salary, career progression or flexible working. As always, if you are interested in hearing about specific opportunities then please reach out to us.