NH bankruptcies jump 47% in March

Filings nearly double the number that were reported in February

Bankruptcy filings are continuing this year’s climb, rising by 47 percent from February to March.

Some 76 individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy protection in March – that was 24 more than February and 13 more (or 21 percent) than March 2022.

Or course, there was a record low number of bankruptcies in 2022, and if this trend keeps up for the rest of this year, that record will stand.

Bankruptcy filings had been steadily declining since the pandemic, but in the last four months they have increased compared to last year.

In the first quarter, there were 171 filings, compared to 147 in the first quarter of 2022 – a 16 percent increase. In the previous three years, annual filings were down by 41, 31 and 10 percent, respectively.

Still, it’s important to remember that there were 536 filings in March 2010 – more than seven times as many as this year. There haven’t been fewer filings in March since the 1980s, except for last year.

There was some good news: No individuals filed with business-related debt and only one business filed for bankruptcy. That was a single-asset real estate business related to a condominium development, which filed for reorganization. That bankruptcy is being contested by a creditor involved in a pending lawsuit and the U.S. Trustee’s office.

The business that filed was NewCo LLC, Lincoln, which filed March 14 for Chapter 11 protection. It reported assets of $8,504,673 and liabilities of $3,448,000.