Some 17,243 companies entered insolvency last year, the highest number since 2013 and 4 percent more than in 2016.
The government agency which published the data said numbers were boosted by two bulk insolvencies caused by a change to tax rules, and that on an underlying basis the total number last year was 15,112, the highest number since 2014.
Individual insolvencies rose by 9 percent on the year to a three-year high of 99,196.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Alistair Smout)
