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 official data released on Tuesday.

The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said 4,321 companies entered insolvency in the April-June period on an underlying basis which excludes "bulk" closures of personal service companies. This was up from 4,213 in the first quarter and marked the biggest total since early 2014.

The number of personal insolvencies declined for a second quarter running after hitting an eight-year high at the end of 2018, dropping to 30,937 in the second quarter from 31,346 in the first three months of 2019.