# How many companies are going insolvent in England and Wales?

1,946 companies in England and Wales entered insolvency in August 2026, down 3% on 2,007 a year earlier. Over the last 12 months, 50.1 in every 10,000 companies became insolvent.

## Findings

- August 2026 was 22% below the 10-year peak of 2,483 in May 2023.
- 22,887 companies in England and Wales entered insolvency in the last 12 months (seasonally adjusted).
- 50.1 in every 10,000 companies in England and Wales became insolvent in the last 12 months. Scotland was 48.5 and Northern Ireland 40.5.
- 74% of insolvencies in August 2026 were creditors' voluntary liquidations (1,431 of 1,946). Compulsory liquidations were 314 against 298 a year earlier, and administrations 182 against 114. The other 19 were company voluntary arrangements and receiverships.

## Are company insolvencies rising in England and Wales?

Company insolvencies in England and Wales fell 6% to 5,730 over June to August 2026, against 6,102 over June to August 2025.

## How does the insolvency rate compare?

50.1 in every 10,000 companies in England and Wales became insolvent in the last 12 months, against 48.5 in Scotland and 40.5 in Northern Ireland.

## Which insolvency procedures are most common?

Creditors’ voluntary liquidations were the most common procedure in August 2026, at 74% of insolvencies (1,431 of 1,946).

## Which industries have the most insolvencies?

Construction had the most company insolvencies over Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, with 3,866, 17% of the total. Counts, not rates.

1. Construction had 3,866 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 33 days to pay suppliers.
2. Wholesale and retail trade had 3,395 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 37 days to pay suppliers.
3. Accommodation and food service had 3,201 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 36 days to pay suppliers.
4. Administrative and support services had 2,212 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 27 days to pay suppliers.
5. Professional, scientific and technical had 1,913 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 30 days to pay suppliers.
6. Manufacturing had 1,827 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 45 days to pay suppliers.
7. Information and communication had 1,373 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 29 days to pay suppliers.
8. Real estate had 965 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 26.5 days to pay suppliers.
9. Other service activities had 957 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 31 days to pay suppliers.
10. Transport and storage had 693 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 35 days to pay suppliers.
11. Human health and social work had 617 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 26 days to pay suppliers.
12. Financial and insurance had 503 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 22 days to pay suppliers.
13. Arts, entertainment and recreation had 447 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 28 days to pay suppliers.
14. Education had 252 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 25 days to pay suppliers.
15. Water, sewerage and waste had 144 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 37 days to pay suppliers.
16. Agriculture, forestry and fishing had 84 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 31 days to pay suppliers.
17. Electricity and gas supply had 58 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 26 days to pay suppliers.
18. Mining and quarrying had 23 company insolvencies, and its large companies take a median of 32 days to pay suppliers.

## What does this mean for money owed to you?

22,887 companies in England and Wales entered insolvency in the last 12 months, and each one can leave its suppliers with unpaid invoices.

When a customer becomes insolvent, unsecured suppliers rank behind secured creditors and preferential creditors such as employees and HMRC, and often recover little, so the time to act is while an invoice is still only late. [UK credit control software](https://www.paidnice.com/credit-control-software) sends the reminders and statements that keep overdue invoices moving, and the [late payment interest calculator](https://www.paidnice.com/late-payment-interest-calculator) shows what the law lets you add to them.

For how long UK businesses wait to be paid across the whole economy, see the [UK accounts receivable statistics](https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics/united-kingdom).

## Monthly, England and Wales, seasonally adjusted (September 2016 to August 2026)

month,total,cvl,compulsory,administration
2016-09,1255,860,243,119
2016-10,1282,833,302,129
2016-11,1286,871,264,117
2016-12,1261,875,252,114
2017-01,1275,881,248,115
2017-02,1343,942,245,130
2017-03,1285,930,220,106
2017-04,1331,975,223,107
2017-05,1081,677,266,111
2017-06,1108,752,209,113
2017-07,1244,859,271,88
2017-08,1143,793,218,104
2017-09,1256,871,240,117
2017-10,1074,742,214,104
2017-11,1161,859,176,102
2017-12,1270,915,219,119
2018-01,1310,937,205,116
2018-02,1353,941,269,119
2018-03,1263,878,238,120
2018-04,1192,807,237,115
2018-05,1341,979,232,104
2018-06,1395,945,285,129
2018-07,1429,1028,207,166
2018-08,1546,1020,380,110
2018-09,1411,1008,253,119
2018-10,1338,925,274,109
2018-11,1321,929,240,132
2018-12,1153,743,269,125
2019-01,1566,1108,245,171
2019-02,1250,863,239,125
2019-03,1509,1062,253,165
2019-04,1462,1014,287,135
2019-05,1364,952,280,101
2019-06,1507,1025,277,170
2019-07,1431,990,243,159
2019-08,1478,1013,255,180
2019-09,1478,1071,230,154
2019-10,1465,1090,193,146
2019-11,1495,1071,252,151
2019-12,1165,796,188,160
2020-01,1380,962,234,152
2020-02,1426,1027,231,148
2020-03,1133,813,187,115
2020-04,1212,934,126,130
2020-05,1032,853,39,128
2020-06,718,526,70,108
2020-07,975,586,171,201
2020-08,858,626,105,111
2020-09,899,715,51,102
2020-10,886,709,59,97
2020-11,889,767,35,72
2020-12,1222,968,46,163
2021-01,792,649,45,77
2021-02,754,654,37,57
2021-03,908,802,34,62
2021-04,895,786,37,67
2021-05,1095,999,38,51
2021-06,1143,1050,35,44
2021-07,1127,1031,43,47
2021-08,1365,1263,46,54
2021-09,1450,1327,32,79
2021-10,1485,1328,47,94
2021-11,1592,1451,44,87
2021-12,1455,1315,55,78
2022-01,1667,1464,111,79
2022-02,1665,1460,92,110
2022-03,1862,1602,143,108
2022-04,2052,1820,118,104
2022-05,1865,1602,158,91
2022-06,1616,1365,144,98
2022-07,1930,1691,138,96
2022-08,1875,1580,175,107
2022-09,1719,1403,223,82
2022-10,1987,1651,224,107
2022-11,1868,1498,238,122
2022-12,2028,1685,205,128
2023-01,1771,1480,183,94
2023-02,1970,1651,201,106
2023-03,2204,1770,300,121
2023-04,1804,1443,232,117
2023-05,2483,2090,207,156
2023-06,2085,1686,250,135
2023-07,1788,1387,241,141
2023-08,2234,1783,258,181
2023-09,2110,1702,269,128
2023-10,2260,1870,222,144
2023-11,2260,1841,288,119
2023-12,2196,1867,189,125
2024-01,1826,1381,302,127
2024-02,2196,1755,271,158
2024-03,1832,1447,275,101
2024-04,2140,1695,279,148
2024-05,1937,1530,264,124
2024-06,2442,1967,290,162
2024-07,2045,1576,295,149
2024-08,1898,1502,268,108
2024-09,1941,1536,237,151
2024-10,1709,1416,175,104
2024-11,1984,1559,277,133
2024-12,1931,1475,306,133
2025-01,2037,1597,290,136
2025-02,2028,1515,392,114
2025-03,2000,1563,291,129
2025-04,2015,1525,364,101
2025-05,2226,1724,346,142
2025-06,2058,1612,328,103
2025-07,2037,1539,329,157
2025-08,2007,1579,298,114
2025-09,1969,1549,277,126
2025-10,2017,1559,316,125
2025-11,1853,1439,255,140
2025-12,1692,1322,248,107
2026-01,1759,1332,256,157
2026-02,1897,1476,259,152
2026-03,2027,1467,304,236
2026-04,2083,1498,384,180
2026-05,1860,1417,283,135
2026-06,1850,1372,277,187
2026-07,1934,1495,291,126
2026-08,1946,1431,314,182

## Questions about this data

### What counts as a company insolvency?

In England and Wales, a company insolvency is a compulsory liquidation, a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, an administration, a company voluntary arrangement or a receivership, and there were 1,946 of them in August 2026.

### How often does the data update?

The Insolvency Service publishes company insolvency statistics every month, and this page carries 120 months of them, from September 2016 to August 2026.

### Where do the numbers come from?

The monthly counts are the Insolvency Service’s seasonally adjusted company insolvency statistics for England and Wales, and the industry counts are its Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 figures by SIC section, covering 22,530 insolvencies.

### Why does an insolvent customer matter to a supplier?

22,887 companies in England and Wales entered insolvency in the last 12 months. When a customer becomes insolvent, unsecured suppliers rank behind secured creditors and preferential creditors such as employees and HMRC, and often recover little, so the time to act is while an invoice is still only late.

## Related guides

- [UK credit control software](https://www.paidnice.com/credit-control-software)
- [Credit control for UK small businesses](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/credit-control-software-uk-small-businesses)
- [What is credit control?](https://www.paidnice.com/dictionary/credit-control)
- [UK accounts receivable statistics](https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics/united-kingdom)
- [Late payment interest calculator](https://www.paidnice.com/late-payment-interest-calculator)
- [Late payment fees in the UK](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/late-payment-fees-uk)
- [The UK late payment law changes](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/commercial-payments-bill-uk-late-payment-law)
- [Accounts receivable statistics](https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-statistics)
- [Accounts receivable software](https://www.paidnice.com/accounts-receivable-software)

## Method and sources

This page reports how long large companies take to pay, from government payment filings. How long small businesses wait to be paid is a different measure on a different group of businesses, and it is on the accounts receivable statistics pages.

Cite: Paidnice (2026). UK company insolvency tracker. https://www.paidnice.com/payment-times/uk/insolvencies. Source: Insolvency Service monthly company insolvency statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/company-insolvency-statistics-releases), England and Wales, seasonally adjusted, September 2016 to August 2026. Industry counts: Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.