23,938 UK companies went insolvent in 2025. We dug into the filings.
The Insolvency Service published its full-year 2025 statistics. The headline: 23,938 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales, comprising 18,525 creditors' voluntary liquidations (CVLs), 3,730 compulsory liquidations, and 1,495 administrations. The total is similar to 2024 and remains at levels last seen during the 2008-09 recession.
We cross-referenced the company numbers against Companies House filings and built a dataset that goes beyond the headline.
The sector breakdown
Construction leads. Again. 3,950 construction-sector insolvencies over the twelve months to November 2025, representing 17% of the total. Wholesale and retail trade follows at 3,773 (16%). Accommodation and food service sits third at 3,372 (14%).
None of this is surprising if you've been watching the data. The past four years have seen the highest four annual CVL numbers since the series began in 1960. The combination of material cost inflation, delayed payments from tier-one contractors, and the slow unwind of Bounce Back Loans has created a rolling crisis in construction.
The geography
London and the South East account for a disproportionate share of insolvencies, broadly in line with their share of the UK company population. But the North West is overrepresented relative to its share of registered companies. Greater Manchester postcodes are consistently among the hardest-hit areas.
The West Midlands tells a similar story. Birmingham's B postcode districts show a heavy concentration in the city centre and inner ring, dominated by small construction and logistics firms.
Director resignation patterns
This is where it gets interesting. We looked at director change filings on Companies House for insolvent companies and checked the six months prior to each insolvency event.
In a significant proportion of cases, at least one director resigned in the six months before the insolvency filing. In some cases, all directors resigned, leaving a company with no active officers at the point of insolvency. That pattern - a complete board exodus before creditors' voluntary liquidation - merits closer examination by regulators.
What the accounts showed
A substantial number of the insolvent companies had not filed accounts within the last 12 months at the point of insolvency. Among those with recent accounts available on Companies House, the typical net asset position was negative, with current ratios well below the 1.0 threshold that indicates an ability to meet short-term obligations.
Put simply: the accounts that were filed already showed distress. The ones that weren't filed are even more concerning.
What happens next
HMRC's post-COVID enforcement backlog is still working through the system. Compulsory liquidations rose to the highest annual number since 2012, driven largely by HMRC winding-up petitions (we covered that separately). The ECCT Act's new identity verification requirements, which launched in November 2025, add further administrative burden. And interest rates, while falling, remain historically elevated.
The insolvency rate stands at one in 190 companies on the effective register. Q1 2026 is unlikely to bring relief. If anything, the seasonal pattern suggests January-March will be worse. We'll publish the data when the Insolvency Service releases it.