UK company insolvency statistics
The key figures on UK company insolvency and business distress, each with its official source and release date so you can check and cite it. There were 1,946 company insolvencies in England and Wales in August 2026, and over the 12 months to August 2026 about 1 in 200 companies entered insolvency. Creditors voluntary liquidations, where directors choose to close an insolvent company, make up most cases. For the monthly detail see the UK company insolvency tracker; for the full-year split see insolvencies by type; for everything else see our data pages. Insolvency Service, gov.uk
| Statistic | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Company insolvencies, England and Wales | 1,946 | August 2026. Insolvency Service, published 18 September 2026 |
| Insolvency rate, England and Wales | 50.1 per 10,000 companies (1 in 200) | 12 months to August 2026. Insolvency Service, published 18 September 2026 |
| Creditors voluntary liquidations as a share of all cases | 74% | August 2026. Insolvency Service, published 18 September 2026 |
| Company insolvencies in 2025, England and Wales | 23,938 | 2025. Insolvency Service, published 20 January 2026 |
| Company insolvencies in 2023, the highest annual total since 1993 | 25,164 | 2023. Insolvency Service, as revised in the release published 20 January 2026 |
| Insolvencies in construction, the most of any industry | 3,866 (17% of cases with industry captured) | 12 months to August 2026. Insolvency Service, published 18 September 2026 |
| Tax debt owed to HMRC (all taxpayers) | £42.8 billion | End of 2024-25. National Audit Office, page published 11 May 2026 |
| Pubs closed for good, England, Scotland and Wales | 161 | Q1 2026. BBPA, published 5 May 2026 |
| Winding-up petitions published in The Gazette | 16 | 5 October 2026 to 7 October 2026, from the most recent 1200 notices. The Gazette, latest fetch 7 October 2026 |
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Deeper tables
LTD Turnaround, UK Company Insolvency Statistics, https://ltdturnaround.co.uk/statistics/. Figures compiled from the Insolvency Service, the National Audit Office, the British Beer and Pub Association and The Gazette; the period and release date for each figure are shown in the table.
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