State of UK company insolvency: 2025 in figures
There were 23,938 company insolvencies in England and Wales in 2025, 5% lower than 2023’s 25,164 (the highest annual number since 1993), with Creditors Voluntary Liquidation accounting for 77% of cases (Insolvency Service). This page pulls the year’s headline figures from our own separately maintained trackers into one dated release, rather than duplicating new research. Each figure links back to the tracker page carrying its full source and methodology. Insolvency Service; The Gazette; gov.uk (see linked trackers for each figure’s own source)
Data as of: 2025 annual figures, published 20 January 2026
| Measure | 2025 figure | Source page |
|---|---|---|
| Total company insolvencies (England & Wales) | 23,938, similar to 2024 and 5% below 2023’s 25,164 (highest since 1993) | Company insolvency procedures explained |
| Share by procedure | CVL 77%, compulsory liquidation 16%, administration 6%, CVA 1% | Company insolvency procedures explained |
| HMRC tax debt priority | HMRC secondary preferential creditor since 1 Dec 2020 for VAT and PAYE/NIC/CIS deductions, ranking ahead of floating charge holders and unsecured creditors for those debts | HMRC tax debt tracker |
| Winding-up petitions | Ongoing Gazette-advertised petition activity; insolvency practitioner reporting has repeatedly identified HMRC among the most active petitioners (HMRC itself does not publish petition figures) | Winding-up petition tracker |
| Director disqualifications | See tracker for the latest published figures and scope | Director disqualifications |
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These figures describe the national picture, not your company's position. What matters for you is which procedure fits your own situation and how early you take advice, not how many other companies failed this year.
General information, not advice about your company.
Methodology and source
This is a consolidated, dated snapshot rather than a new dataset: every figure on this page is drawn from, and stays synchronised with, this site’s own separately maintained trackers, each independently sourced to the Insolvency Service, The Gazette or gov.uk. See the UK company insolvency tracker for the live monthly figures behind the 2025 annual total, HMRC tax debt for the priority-ranking detail, the winding-up petition tracker for current Gazette-advertised petitions, and director disqualifications for that separate figure. A new dated version of this page should be published once full-year 2026 figures are released, rather than this one being edited in place, so the 2025 snapshot remains citable as a fixed point in time.
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