UK Company Insolvency Statistics 2026: Which Industries Are Under the Most Pressure?

Construction recorded more company insolvencies than any other major industry in the 12 months to August 2026, but it was not the sector with the highest insolvency rate once the size of the underlying business population was taken into account.

In England and Wales, Construction recorded 3,866 company insolvencies in the latest rolling 12-month industry data, representing 17% of cases where industry was captured. Wholesale and retail trade followed with 3,395, while Accommodation and food service activities recorded 3,201.

The latest annual business-demography data tell a different story about relative pressure. Accommodation and food service activities recorded 268 business insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in 2025 — the highest rate among the nine largest industries by business population. Manufacturing recorded 167, while Real estate activities recorded 60.

Audit Consulting Group analysis therefore highlights an important distinction in UK insolvency statistics: the industry recording the most insolvencies is not necessarily the industry with the highest insolvency rate.

The detailed sector, size, turnover, age and regional analysis in this article focuses primarily on England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland are reported separately in the official datasets and should not be assumed to follow the same rates or patterns.

This analysis combines the Insolvency Service’s Company Insolvency Statistics for August 2026 with its Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025. The datasets measure different populations and periods, so company insolvency volumes and business insolvency rates are analysed separately rather than treated as interchangeable measures.

Data and sources were checked up to 20 September 2026.

UK company insolvency statistics at a glance

• 1,946 companies entered insolvency in England and Wales in August 2026, 3% fewer than in August 2025.
• 50.1 per 10,000 companies on the effective register entered insolvency during the 12 months to August 2026 — approximately one in every 200 companies.
• Construction recorded 3,866 company insolvencies in the latest 12-month industry data, the highest absolute total.
• Accommodation and food service activities recorded 268 business insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in 2025, the highest rate among the nine largest industries.
• Audit Consulting Group calculates that the Accommodation and food service activities rate was approximately 2.3 times the overall England and Wales business insolvency rate.
• Businesses with 20–49 employees recorded the highest employee-band insolvency rate in 2025, at 269 per 10,000.
• Businesses with £2 million to £5 million in annual turnover recorded the highest turnover-band rate, at 189 per 10,000.
• Businesses aged 7–10 years recorded 170 insolvencies per 10,000, compared with 37 among businesses less than two years old.
• The North East recorded 143 insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in 2025, compared with 105 in the South West.
• The rolling company insolvency rate remained approximately 55.7% below the 2008–09 recession peak.

1,946 companies entered insolvency in August 2026

The latest Insolvency Service figures show 1,946 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales in August 2026. This was similar to the 1,934 recorded in July and 3% below the 2,007 recorded in August 2025.

Monthly company insolvency volumes during the first eight months of 2026 were also slightly below the average of the preceding three years. The current data therefore show continued insolvency pressure, but not a straightforward acceleration in overall insolvency volumes during 2026.

Source: Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics August 2026. Figures are seasonally adjusted.

Creditors’ voluntary liquidations, or CVLs, remained by far the largest component, accounting for 1,431 of the 1,946 insolvencies registered in August. Compulsory liquidations numbered 314, administrations 182 and company voluntary arrangements 19.

The procedures did not move in the same direction. CVLs were 9% lower than a year earlier, while compulsory liquidations were 5% higher. Administrations were 60% higher year on year, although the Insolvency Service notes that recent administration figures have been volatile, including the effect of more than 250 connected Real Estate companies entering administration.

[DATA VISUALISATION OPPORTUNITY]
Title: Company Insolvencies by Procedure, May–August 2026
Recommended format: Grouped column chart
Data: Monthly CVLs, compulsory liquidations, administrations and CVAs from May to August 2026
Source: Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics August 2026
Key message: CVLs remain the dominant company insolvency procedure despite lower volumes than a year earlier.

Construction recorded the most company insolvencies

Industry data covering the 12 months to August 2026 place Construction at the top of the company insolvency table. The sector recorded 3,866 insolvencies, accounting for 17% of cases where industry was captured.

Source: Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics August 2026. Period: September 2025 to August 2026, England and Wales.

The six largest categories all recorded fewer insolvencies than in the preceding 12 months. The declines ranged from 2% in Construction to 9% in Wholesale and retail trade.

These figures establish where the greatest number of insolvencies occurred. They do not establish the relative likelihood of a business in each industry becoming insolvent. The Insolvency Service explicitly cautions against interpreting industry volumes in that way because industries differ substantially in the number of businesses operating within them.

[DATA VISUALISATION OPPORTUNITY]
Title: Which Industries Recorded the Most Company Insolvencies?
Recommended format: Horizontal bar chart
Data: Construction 3,866; Wholesale and retail 3,395; Accommodation and food 3,201; Administrative and support 2,212; Professional, scientific and technical 1,913; Manufacturing 1,827
Source: Insolvency Service
Key message: Construction recorded the largest absolute number of company insolvencies in the 12 months to August 2026.

Why insolvency volume and insolvency rate tell different stories

A large industry can record many insolvencies simply because it contains many businesses. Comparing relative pressure requires a denominator as well as a case count.

The Insolvency Service’s Business Insolvency Demography dataset addresses this by linking insolvency records with demographic information from the Office for National Statistics’ Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). This makes it possible to express insolvencies relative to the number of active businesses.

The difference is material. Construction leads the latest company statistics by absolute insolvency volume. But among the nine largest industries by business population, Accommodation and food service activities had the highest business insolvency rate in 2025.

[DATA VISUALISATION OPPORTUNITY]
Title: Most Company Insolvencies vs Highest Insolvency Rate
Recommended format: Comparison infographic
Data: Construction — 3,866 company insolvencies in the 12 months to August 2026; Accommodation and food service activities — 268 business insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in 2025
Source: Insolvency Service; Audit Consulting Group analysis
Key message: The sector with the largest number of insolvencies is not necessarily the sector with the highest relative insolvency rate.

Accommodation and food services had the highest insolvency rate among the largest industries

Accommodation and food service activities recorded 268 business insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in England and Wales in 2025. The Insolvency Service reports that this industry has had the highest rate among the nine largest industries in every year since the series began in 2015.

Manufacturing recorded the second-highest 2025 rate among those industries at 167 per 10,000. Real estate activities recorded the lowest rate at 60 per 10,000.

Source: Insolvency Service, Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025. Industry comparison refers to the nine largest industries by business population.

Audit Consulting Group calculations show that the Accommodation and food service activities rate was approximately 2.3 times the overall England and Wales business insolvency rate and approximately 4.5 times the Real estate activities rate.

The comparison changes the interpretation of sector pressure. Construction currently generates the largest number of formal company insolvencies, while the latest denominator-adjusted annual data identify Accommodation and food service activities as experiencing the highest insolvency incidence among the largest industries.

[DATA VISUALISATION OPPORTUNITY]
Title: Business Insolvency Rate by Industry, 2025
Recommended format: Horizontal bar chart
Data: Accommodation and food 268; Manufacturing 167; all businesses 116; Real estate 60 per 10,000
Source: Insolvency Service, Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025
Key message: Accommodation and food service activities had an insolvency rate more than twice the England and Wales average.

The overall business insolvency rate remains above 2019

There were 22,455 business insolvencies in England and Wales in 2025, according to the Business Insolvency Demography release. The corresponding rate was 116 per 10,000 businesses.

The rate was broadly unchanged from 117 in 2024 but materially above the 88 recorded in 2019.

Source: Insolvency Service, Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025.

Audit Consulting Group calculates that the 2025 rate was approximately 31.8% higher than in 2019. However, the movement from 117 in 2024 to 116 in 2025 shows that the annual rate did not continue increasing in the latest data.

Company insolvency activity fell sharply during 2020 and 2021, when pandemic-era government support measures were in place, before increasing from 2022. Company insolvency numbers reached a 30-year high in 2023, with CVLs at a record high.

That history makes 2019 a useful pre-pandemic benchmark, but it does not establish that the subsequent increase was caused by any single economic, financial or policy factor.

Businesses with 20–49 employees recorded the highest employee-band rate

Business size produces another difference between absolute numbers and relative incidence.

Businesses with zero to four employees accounted for 13,380 business insolvencies in 2025, or 60% of the total. However, businesses of this size represented 78% of active businesses with company legal status. Their large share of insolvency cases therefore partly reflects their dominance in the underlying business population.

The highest employee-band rate was instead recorded among businesses with 20–49 employees: 269 insolvencies per 10,000 businesses.

Audit Consulting Group analysis puts that rate at approximately 2.3 times the overall England and Wales rate of 116 per 10,000.

The pattern is not confined to 2025. Businesses with 20–49 employees had the highest insolvency rate in every year from 2015 to 2025 except 2019 and 2020.

Businesses with £2m–£5m turnover recorded the highest turnover-band rate

Businesses with annual turnover below £250,000 accounted for 10,820 insolvencies in 2025, or 48% of business insolvencies. Yet they represented about 65% of active businesses with company legal status, leaving their insolvency rate below the overall average.

The highest turnover-band rate was instead recorded among businesses with annual turnover of £2 million to £5 million: 189 insolvencies per 10,000 businesses.

Audit Consulting Group calculates that this was approximately 63% above the overall England and Wales business insolvency rate.

The broader data show that businesses with turnover between £250,000 and £50 million had higher insolvency rates than businesses below £250,000 or above £50 million in 2025.

Seven-to-ten-year-old businesses had a rate 4.6 times that of the youngest businesses

Business age shows one of the largest differences in the demographic data.

Businesses aged 7–10 years recorded 170 insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in 2025. Businesses less than two years old recorded the lowest rate, at 37 per 10,000.

Source: Insolvency Service, Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025.

Audit Consulting Group calculates that the rate for businesses aged 7–10 years was approximately 4.6 times the rate for businesses less than two years old.

This is an association rather than evidence that business age itself causes insolvency. Industry composition, business size, financing and other characteristics may also differ between age groups.

[DATA VISUALISATION OPPORTUNITY]
Title: Business Insolvency Rate by Age, 2025
Recommended format: Horizontal bar chart
Data: Less than 2 years 37; all businesses 116; 7–10 years 170 per 10,000
Source: Insolvency Service; Audit Consulting Group calculation
Key message: Businesses aged 7–10 years had an insolvency rate approximately 4.6 times that of businesses less than two years old.

The North East recorded the highest regional business insolvency rate

Regional differences were also substantial. The North East recorded 143 business insolvencies per 10,000 businesses in 2025, the highest rate in England and Wales. The South West recorded 105, the lowest.

Source: Insolvency Service, Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025.

Audit Consulting Group calculates that the North East rate was approximately 36.2% higher than the South West rate.

This was part of a longer-running regional pattern. The North East has recorded the highest regional rate since 2021, while the South West has recorded the lowest over the same period.

The Insolvency Service determines region using the business’s registered postcode on the IDBR, generally its main operating site or head office. The recorded region therefore does not necessarily represent where all employees or business activity are located.

CVLs still account for most company insolvencies

Creditors’ voluntary liquidations remain the dominant formal insolvency procedure.

In August 2026, 1,431 of 1,946 registered company insolvencies were CVLs. The rolling CVL rate was 37.9 per 10,000 companies, compared with an overall company insolvency rate of 50.1.

Source: Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics August 2026. Rates are per 10,000 companies on the effective register and cover rolling 12-month periods. Totals may not equal component sums because of rounding.

The overall rolling rate fell from 52.5 in August 2025 to 50.1 in August 2026. The CVL component fell from 40.8 to 37.9 over the same comparison.

The current company insolvency rate remains far below the 2008–09 peak

Absolute insolvency numbers need to be read alongside changes in the size of the company population.

In the 12 months ending August 2026, 50.1 companies per 10,000 companies on the effective register entered insolvency, equivalent to approximately one company in every 200.

The comparable rate reached 113.1 per 10,000 companies during the 2008–09 recession. Audit Consulting Group calculates that the latest rolling rate is approximately 55.7% below that peak.

The Insolvency Service notes that the effective company register has more than doubled since that period. Comparing today’s absolute insolvency counts with historical totals without allowing for the larger company population can therefore give a misleading impression of relative insolvency incidence.

What the 2026 insolvency data tell us about industry pressure

There is no single measure that identifies an industry as being under the greatest insolvency pressure.

If the measure is the number of recent company insolvencies, Construction leads with 3,866 cases in England and Wales during the 12 months to August 2026.

If the measure is the business insolvency rate relative to the underlying business population, the latest annual evidence instead places Accommodation and food service activities highest among the nine largest industries, at 268 per 10,000 businesses in 2025.

The same distinction appears across the demographic data. The smallest businesses account for most insolvency cases but not the highest employee-band rate. Businesses with the lowest turnover account for almost half of insolvencies but do not have the highest turnover-band rate. And the youngest businesses record a substantially lower insolvency rate than businesses aged seven to ten years.

For directors, finance teams, accountants and researchers, the implication is methodological rather than predictive: raw case numbers measure scale, while denominator-adjusted rates allow more meaningful comparisons of insolvency incidence between differently sized populations.

Businesses seeking clearer financial visibility can also use regular management accounts to monitor performance, cash flow and financial trends. This does not predict or prevent insolvency, but it can provide more timely information for business decision-making.

Company insolvency and business insolvency rates are not interchangeable

The two official statistical systems used in this analysis measure different populations.

Monthly Company Insolvency Statistics record formal company insolvency procedures and calculate rates using companies on the effective Companies House register. The 50.1-per-10,000 figure therefore covers companies entering insolvency between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026.

Business Insolvency Demography combines insolvency records with the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register. A business can consist of more than one related company, and the denominator is the population of active registered businesses with company legal status. The latest annual rate under this methodology is 116 per 10,000 businesses in England and Wales in 2025.

The figures of 50.1 and 116 per 10,000 therefore do not conflict. They measure different populations over different reference periods.

The Business Insolvency Demography publication is classified as Official Statistics in development. Around 90–95% of insolvent companies are successfully matched to businesses on the IDBR. Because unmatched companies are excluded from the relevant totals and breakdowns, the Insolvency Service notes that business insolvency volumes and rates are likely to be slightly underestimated.

Methodology and limitations

Audit Consulting Group analysed the Insolvency Service’s Company Insolvency Statistics for August 2026 and Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025. Data and sources were checked up to 20 September 2026.

The latest company statistics provide current insolvency volumes and rolling rates. For the central industry-volume analysis, this article uses the 12 months ending August 2026 in England and Wales. For industry, employee, turnover, age and regional rates, it uses the latest available Business Insolvency Demography data for calendar year 2025.

The two periods are not combined into a single rate or ranking. The 2026 company statistics provide the freshest view of insolvency events, while the 2025 demographic data provide denominator-adjusted comparisons.

Audit Consulting Group calculations use source-published values. Ratios and percentage comparisons have been rounded to an appropriate level given the precision of the underlying data.

Monthly company insolvency statistics are provisional and may be revised. SIC industry classifications are self-reported, and recent industry figures can change as classifications become available.

The Business Insolvency Demography figures use IDBR demographic information and exclude insolvent companies that cannot be matched successfully. Region is based on the business’s registered postcode and may not represent the location of all staff or commercial activity.

Formal insolvency is also not synonymous with every business closure. Solvent closures, including members’ voluntary liquidations and ordinary dissolutions, are excluded from the Business Insolvency Demography figures.

Finally, the statistical relationships in this analysis should not be interpreted as proof of causation. Differences by industry, size, turnover, age or region show variation in insolvency incidence; they do not establish why an individual business became insolvent.

What to watch next

The next monthly Company Insolvency Statistics release is scheduled for 20 October 2026. It will provide another data point on whether the gradual easing in the rolling company insolvency rate continues.

The next Business Insolvency Demography release is scheduled for June 2027. That update will be more important for answering the central sector question because it should show whether the large differences in denominator-adjusted insolvency rates between industries, business sizes, turnover bands and age groups persist.

Data sources

• Insolvency Service — Company Insolvencies, August 2026
• Insolvency Service — Commentary: Company Insolvency Statistics August 2026
• Insolvency Service — Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025
• Insolvency Service — Commentary: Business Insolvency Demography 2015 to 2025