Company distress by sector

Different industries fail for different reasons, and understanding the specific pressures in your sector helps you spot trouble early and choose the right route. Construction is squeezed by fixed-price contracts and retentions, hospitality by rent and energy, recruitment by the gap between paying workers weekly and being paid by clients monthly, and so on. The formal options (Time to Pay, a CVA, administration or liquidation) are the same across sectors, but how and when to use them is shaped by the way your industry handles cash, contracts and assets. These pages cover the distress drivers and rescue options for the sectors where directors most often ask us for help.

Construction Why construction firms fail more than any other sector, and how directors can protect live contracts or close properly. Hospitality Why rent, energy, staff costs and seasonality push pubs, restaurants and hotels into arrears, and when a CVA can help. Retail How online competition, rent, rates and stock squeeze retailers, and when a CVA or administration can restructure a store estate. Recruitment Why paying workers weekly while clients pay on long terms sinks profitable agencies, and what to do before payroll fails. Transport and logistics How fuel costs, vehicle finance and personal guarantees raise the stakes for haulage and logistics directors. Manufacturing How energy and input costs squeeze manufacturers, and why valuable plant and stock change the rescue options. Care homes Why staffing costs and local authority fees squeeze care providers, and why an insolvency must protect residents. Professional services How staff costs, unbilled work and reliance on a few clients put agencies and consultancies under pressure, and what can be saved.

For the numbers behind these pages, see company insolvency by industry: every SIC section, division and group for the latest 12 months, with insolvency rates per 10,000 businesses.

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Company distress by sector

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