Company insolvencies remain stable but cost pressures continue to bite
Commenting on the Insolvency Service’s latest monthly statistics for England and Wales, R3, the UK’s restructuring, turnaround and insolvency association, said although company insolvencies were at similar levels to the previous month, administrations spiked and personal insolvencies continue to increase.
Commenting on the latest numbers, Sonia Jordan, president of R3 and Restructuring and insolvency partner at Knights, said: “Corporate insolvency numbers in June remained similar to the previous month with 1,845 companies failing last month compared to 1,849 in May. Figures were also 10% lower than June 2025. However, there was a monthly spike in businesses entering administration of 45% due to 60 connected companies in the real estate sector entering administration. This is likely to be caused by the continuing ripple effects of the demise of mortgage provider Market Financial Solutions.
“Although we are seeing a welcome stabilising in insolvency numbers, these figures reflect conditions several months earlier, and since then the backdrop has become more difficult again. The short-lived relief some businesses may have felt from easing fuel and energy costs following developments in the Middle East has now been replaced by renewed uncertainty as the conflict resumes, with rising fuel costs likely to feed quickly into transport, supply chain and operating costs. This may edge up company insolvency figures again in the coming months.
“In positive news, the continued heatwave across the UK and major sporting events like the World Cup and Wimbledon have helped pubs and restaurants, while some online retailers have benefited as people avoided shopping in the heat. With costs for overseas travel remaining high, UK businesses in traditional holiday locations will also be looking to benefit from a boost as people seek to capitalise on the good weather with staycations.
“As Andy Burnham is due to take over as prime minister on Monday, businesses will also be looking for early clarity on the new government’s economic priorities, particularly around taxation, confidence, support for growth and approach to re-nationalisation.”
What the latest insolvency stats show
Corporate insolvencies levels in June 2026 were similar to the previous month with 1,845 cases compared to May when there were 1,849 business failures. June’s figure was 10% lower than the same month in 2025 when there were 2,048 cases.