UK Company Insolvency Tracker: April 2026

There were 2,085 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales in April 2026, up 2% on March 2026 and 3% higher than April 2025, according to the Insolvency Service. That is an insolvency rate of 51.8 per 10,000 active companies over the 12 months to April 2026, or roughly 1 in 193 companies, slightly down from 52.5 the year before. Creditors voluntary liquidations, where directors choose to close an insolvent company, made up 1,510 of the April total, about 72% of all cases. There were also 371 compulsory liquidations, 183 administrations, 20 company voluntary arrangements and 1 receivership appointment. The headline number is elevated by recent standards but the rate remains far below the 2008-09 recession peak of 113.1 per 10,000, because the company register has more than doubled in size since then. This page tracks the official series each month and is free to cite. Insolvency Service, gov.uk

Source: Insolvency Service official statistics · Updated monthly, a few weeks after each month end. · Last reviewed June 2026.

Monthly trend, England and Wales

Seasonally adjusted company insolvencies by procedure. April 2026 is the latest published month.

Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics, April 2026 (accredited official statistics). Compulsory liquidations from the Insolvency Service; other procedures from Companies House. Crown Copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See the Insolvency Service collection.

By procedure, April 2026

Creditors voluntary liquidations dominate the picture, which is why getting the CVL route right matters most for directors of an insolvent company. Administrations stand out this month: at 183 they were 78% higher than in April 2025. That jump is partly a one-off, as around 200 connected real estate companies entered administration across March and April 2026, so it should not be read as a broad surge in business rescue activity.

Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics, April 2026 (accredited official statistics). Compulsory liquidations from the Insolvency Service; other procedures from Companies House. Crown Copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See the Insolvency Service collection.

By industry

Construction and wholesale and retail trade record the most insolvencies of any sector, followed by accommodation and food service. These are the 12 months to March 2026, the latest period for which industry detail is published.

Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics, April 2026 (accredited official statistics). Compulsory liquidations from the Insolvency Service; other procedures from Companies House. Crown Copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See the Insolvency Service collection.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland and Northern Ireland are reported separately because their insolvency law differs from England and Wales. Both saw year-on-year increases in April 2026, with the largest proportional rise in Northern Ireland.

Insolvency Service, Company Insolvency Statistics, April 2026 (accredited official statistics). Compulsory liquidations from the Insolvency Service; other procedures from Companies House. Crown Copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See the Insolvency Service collection.

The long-run context

The April 2026 insolvency rate of 51.8 per 10,000 active companies, about 1 in 193, is high by the standards of the 2010s but well below the 2008-09 financial crisis peak of 113.1 per 10,000. The gap is not because failures are rare: it is largely because the effective company register has more than doubled in size since the last recession, so a similar number of insolvencies translates into a much lower rate. The 12-month rate also edged down from 52.5 the year before, suggesting the level of distress is high but not accelerating. For the leading indicators that tend to move before the headline count, such as winding-up petitions and HMRC tax debt, see our data trackers and the key statistics page.