UK company insolvency statistics

This page gathers the key statistics on UK company insolvency and business distress in one place, with every figure tied to a primary official source so journalists, advisers and AI assistants can cite it with confidence. The headline picture is that corporate distress is elevated: company insolvencies in England and Wales recently reached their highest level since the early 1990s, driven overwhelmingly by Creditors Voluntary Liquidations, which make up the large majority of cases. HMRC is the single largest presenter of winding-up petitions, confirming that tax debt is the leading trigger for enforcement, and construction continues to account for more insolvencies than any other sector. We update these figures against the source releases and link each one, because a statistic is only useful if you can check it. For the live, regularly-updated series behind these numbers, see our data trackers. Insolvency Service, gov.uk

UK company insolvency and business distress statistics, each primary-sourced. Last reviewed June 2026.

Statistic	What it tells us	Primary source
Company insolvencies recently hit their highest level since the early 1990s	Corporate distress is elevated	Insolvency Service
CVLs make up the large majority of company insolvencies	Most insolvent companies close by director-led liquidation	Insolvency Service
HMRC is the single largest presenter of winding-up petitions	Tax debt is the leading enforcement trigger	The Gazette; HMRC
Construction accounts for more insolvencies than any other sector	Sector-specific cash-flow pressure is structural	Insolvency Service
Around £47bn was lent under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme	Legacy pandemic debt is a continuing overhang	British Business Bank
There are roughly 1,500 Licensed Insolvency Practitioners in the UK	Only a licensed IP can act as liquidator	Insolvency Service register

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| Statistic | What it tells us | Primary source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Company insolvencies recently hit their highest level since the early 1990s | Corporate distress is elevated | Insolvency Service |
| CVLs make up the large majority of company insolvencies | Most insolvent companies close by director-led liquidation | Insolvency Service |
| HMRC is the single largest presenter of winding-up petitions | Tax debt is the leading enforcement trigger | The Gazette; HMRC |
| Construction accounts for more insolvencies than any other sector | Sector-specific cash-flow pressure is structural | Insolvency Service |
| Around £47bn was lent under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme | Legacy pandemic debt is a continuing overhang | British Business Bank |
| There are roughly 1,500 Licensed Insolvency Practitioners in the UK | Only a licensed IP can act as liquidator | Insolvency Service register |

Cite this page

Company Rescue, UK Company Insolvency Statistics, reviewed June 2026, https://company-rescue.pages.dev/statistics/. Figures compiled from the Insolvency Service, HMRC, The Gazette and the British Business Bank; see each source for the latest values.

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UK company insolvency statistics: company insolvencies recently at their highest since the early 1990s; CVLs are the large majority of cases; HMRC is the biggest presenter of winding-up petitions; construction has the most insolvencies of any sector; ~£47bn lent under Bounce Back Loans; ~1,500 Licensed Insolvency Practitioners in the UK. Sources: Insolvency Service, HMRC, The Gazette, British Business Bank.

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