Company insolvency statistics - January 2026

The January 2026 company insolvency stats for England and Wales have been published by The Insolvency Service, together with related figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Company insolvency statistics for England and Wales – January 2026

After seasonal adjustment there were 1,744 company insolvencies in January 2026. This was 4% higher than in December 2025 and 14% lower than January 2025. The increase of 4% compared to December 2025 is less than the average absolute change of 10% between consecutive months over the past three years.

In January 2026 there were:

1,323 creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs)
256 compulsory liquidations
151 administrations
13 company voluntary arrangements (CVAs)
1 receivership

CVLs

In January 2026, CVLs accounted for 76% of all company insolvencies. The number of CVLs increased by 1% from December 2025 and was 17% lower than January 2025.

Compulsory liquidations

The number of compulsory liquidations was 4% higher than in December 2025 and 12% lower than in January 2025.

Administrations

The number of administrations was 41% higher than in December 2025 and 14% higher than in January 2025.

CVAs

The number of CVAs was 13% lower than in December 2025 and 7% lower than in January 2025. Numbers remain low compared to historical levels. CVAs are not seasonally adjusted due to low volumes.

Receivership appointments

There was one receivership appointments in January 2026. Receivership appointments are now rare with only three in the past 12 months ending January 2026.

Insolvency rate statistics for England and Wales – January 2026

The company liquidation rate in the 12 months to January 2026 was 51.7 per 10,000 companies on the effective register in England and Wales. This corresponds to 1 in 193 companies entering insolvency.

Company insolvencies by industry in England and Wales – January 2026

The three industries (in accordance with SIC 2007) that experienced the highest number of insolvencies in the 12 months to January 2026 were:

construction (3,931 insolvencies, 17% of cases with industry captured)
wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (3,728 insolvencies, 16% of cases with industry captured)
accommodation and food service activities (3,353 insolvencies, 14% of cases with industry captured)

Company insolvency statistics for Scotland – January 2026

The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers company insolvency in Scotland.

In January 2026 there were 74 company insolvencies, which was 1% lower than the number in January 2025. Of the total company insolvencies in Scotland, there were:

42 CVLs
32 compulsory liquidations
0 administrations
0 CVAs
0 receivership appointments

Historically, compulsory liquidations were the most common type of company insolvency in Scotland. However, since April 2020, numbers of CVLs have remained higher than numbers of compulsory liquidations.

Company insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – January 2026

In January 2026 there were 21 company insolvencies in Northern Ireland, which was 25% lower than in January 2025. Of the total company insolvencies, there were:

9 compulsory liquidations
9 CVLs
1 CVA
0 administrations
0 receivership appointments

Please note, the figures for Northern Ireland are not seasonally-adjusted.

Where can I see insolvency notices in The Gazette?

The Gazette is the primary source of both corporate insolvency and personal insolvency information in the UK and publishes this information in the form of insolvency notices, allowing transparency for the public, the credit industry and concerned individuals to quantify risk and inform creditors. You can view all corporate and personal insolvency notices on The Gazette website.

The Gazette also provides a Data Service which provides timely official company, insolvency and deceased estates information to aid data driven decision-making. As the UK’s official public record, our authorised data can help your business with:

KYC/due diligence
risk management
regulatory compliance
business development
business intelligence and strategy

For more information on The Gazette Data Service, contact the team on 01603 985949, email data@thegazette.co.uk or click on the link below.

Enquire now

Next insolvency statistics release

Figures for February 2026 will be released on 17 March 2026.

Find out more

Company Insolvency Statistics January 2026 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Images

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Publication date

19 February 2026