UK Latest Insolvency Statistics (Updated For May 2026)

What happens when a business becomes insolvent?

A company is considered insolvent when it cannot pay its debts as they fall due, typically leading to liquidation. Once a company is determined to be insolvent, the directors have a legal duty to act in the best interests of the creditors and take steps to minimise further losses. This process might include ceasing trading, seeking professional advice from an insolvency practitioner, or entering a formal insolvency process such as liquidation.

Actions following insolvency:

Compulsory liquidation, which occurs following a winding up petition given by the court.
CVL (creditors’ voluntary liquidation), actioned by directors when they recognise the company is insolvent.
Administration, where the Administrator (usually an insolvency practitioner) has the objective of rescuing the company and recovering as much as possible for the creditors.
CVA (company voluntary arrangement), an insolvency procedure where a company has an arrangement with its creditors to pay the debts in the future, which prevents these creditors from taking action against the company in the present.

May 2026

In May 2026, there were 1868 insolvencies, a decrease of 10.97% from the previous month and 17.04% from the previous year.

These insolvencies included:

285 Compulsory Liquidations – a decrease of 19.04% from the previous year.
1423 CVLs – a decrease of 19.01% from the previous year.
135 Administrations – no change from the previous year.
25 CVAs – an increase of 56.41% from the previous year.

Past 3 Months Total 2026

Period	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
March 2026	2022	299	1468	235	20
April 2026	2085	371	1510	183	20
May 2026	1868	285	1423	135	25
Total 2026	9629	1465 (15.21%)	7208 (74.86%)	866 (8.99%)	88 (0.91%)

Insolvencies by month since 2000

Jump to relevant year:

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

2022
2023
2024
2025
2026

2000	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2000-01	1341	395	760	29	44
2000-02	1181	329	705	38	33
2000-03	1327	400	762	26	48
2000-04	1258	370	720	37	49
2000-05	1272	399	696	31	55
2000-06	1248	427	668	35	45
2000-07	1324	471	717	16	30
2000-08	1371	441	732	68	43
2000-09	1345	461	746	25	47
2000-10	1363	419	763	30	44
2000-11	1330	382	760	36	56
2000-12	1344	431	744	43	57

2001	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2001-01	1409	424	758	47	60
2001-02	1413	459	766	35	32
2001-03	1301	417	690	52	40
2001-04	1459	498	750	47	53
2001-05	1293	364	736	56	60
2001-06	1382	403	797	40	48
2001-07	1334	410	763	49	42
2001-08	1268	308	782	48	51
2001-09	1301	332	785	63	49
2001-10	1457	345	773	154	51
2001-11	1426	352	821	64	64
2001-12	1359	364	829	44	48

2002	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2002-01	1454	396	815	77	46
2002-02	1428	447	796	46	54
2002-03	1607	597	840	55	48
2002-04	1410	472	754	39	58
2002-05	1615	534	889	47	58
2002-06	1407	468	768	55	32
2002-07	1481	484	771	52	58
2002-08	1616	637	782	52	58
2002-09	1416	439	786	54	57
2002-10	1766	674	912	57	47
2002-11	1600	681	758	39	56
2002-12	1346	404	757	55	65

2003	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2003-01	1370	521	683	42	51
2003-02	1494	514	769	74	49
2003-03	1363	518	657	45	64
2003-04	1335	350	799	58	60
2003-05	1450	512	770	55	40
2003-06	1482	517	789	54	56
2003-07	1438	404	816	62	59
2003-08	1212	372	665	46	55
2003-09	1338	401	755	50	58
2003-10	1304	357	708	75	49
2003-11	1264	347	710	81	61
2003-12	1379	421	711	100	75

2004	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2004-01	1388	473	705	98	61
2004-02	1153	337	605	110	43
2004-03	1321	373	732	105	53
2004-04	1332	410	700	126	46
2004-05	1216	358	639	121	50
2004-06	1216	355	638	140	38
2004-07	1214	369	630	115	43
2004-08	1335	428	637	166	56
2004-09	1189	361	614	154	37
2004-10	1304	373	675	162	46
2004-11	1170	375	548	150	42
2004-12	1266	371	678	143	39

2005	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2005-01	1194	353	638	140	43
2005-02	1311	429	638	165	59
2005-03	1262	363	645	163	56
2005-04	1364	408	660	214	60
2005-05	1413	450	691	175	59
2005-06	1369	431	675	188	47
2005-07	1411	491	634	206	46
2005-08	1407	454	690	208	38
2005-09	1489	589	627	213	42
2005-10	1355	487	618	194	33
2005-11	1332	357	675	226	39
2005-12	1308	420	645	194	34

2006	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2006-01	1605	564	733	248	47
2006-02	1439	463	689	235	24
2006-03	1411	433	672	226	45
2006-04	1321	410	635	218	47
2006-05	1340	390	656	217	51
2006-06	1351	397	661	226	48
2006-07	1304	369	664	221	35
2006-08	1482	550	654	226	42
2006-09	1398	454	680	225	31
2006-10	1408	451	673	218	43
2006-11	2180	471	642	1021	37
2006-12	1310	466	619	185	32

2007	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2007-01	1342	450	630	219	34
2007-02	1315	442	635	194	32
2007-03	1303	480	567	220	29
2007-04	1302	476	605	178	35
2007-05	1124	451	484	155	26
2007-06	1481	424	733	264	41
2007-07	1321	440	619	206	50
2007-08	1284	416	596	224	38
2007-09	1473	451	729	244	40
2007-10	1301	346	686	213	38
2007-11	1314	404	658	209	34
2007-12	1073	386	492	171	20

2008	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2008-01	1493	351	792	275	62
2008-02	1380	392	680	260	34
2008-03	1408	377	695	284	43
2008-04	1506	396	697	360	42
2008-05	1600	456	797	301	35
2008-06	1573	453	756	304	53
2008-07	1846	549	861	322	44
2008-08	1724	497	846	320	57
2008-09	1857	489	921	368	66
2008-10	2615	509	908	1130	46
2008-11	2023	499	1018	435	52
2008-12	2144	526	1118	441	50

2009	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2009-01	1980	497	1042	388	47
2009-02	2114	569	1118	372	43
2009-03	2359	504	1284	500	64
2009-04	2149	531	1224	329	57
2009-05	2024	440	1144	364	51
2009-06	2115	493	1224	346	45
2009-07	2026	535	1099	328	55
2009-08	1891	334	1120	367	62
2009-09	1925	433	1139	272	73
2009-10	1784	448	1010	266	58
2009-11	1847	441	1049	281	64
2009-12	1822	417	1041	262	94

2010	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2010-01	1706	488	929	215	67
2010-02	1669	378	976	249	58
2010-03	1700	455	948	218	75
2010-04	1815	402	1066	259	84
2010-05	1609	411	893	239	62
2010-06	1642	382	940	236	84
2010-07	1452	337	887	174	48
2010-08	1719	383	1061	216	55
2010-09	1566	350	918	233	55
2010-10	1728	374	1060	228	63
2010-11	1625	407	933	218	64
2010-12	1307	359	736	167	42

2011	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2011-01	1839	339	1164	258	76
2011-02	1533	339	948	209	34
2011-03	1636	339	1021	205	70
2011-04	1494	308	912	214	58
2011-05	1808	465	1047	213	78
2011-06	1652	425	966	206	50
2011-07	1886	423	1150	237	68
2011-08	1673	412	974	217	69
2011-09	1613	387	971	186	67
2011-10	1848	567	1003	211	65
2011-11	1680	408	1009	192	66
2011-12	1602	470	853	211	57

2012	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2012-01	1686	359	1038	225	57
2012-02	1772	398	1058	255	59
2012-03	1696	367	1056	214	54
2012-04	1755	376	1090	211	78
2012-05	1652	381	996	195	75
2012-06	1560	221	951	190	195
2012-07	1696	442	1008	180	58
2012-08	1606	366	1010	171	59
2012-09	1492	309	954	185	43
2012-10	1540	362	942	173	60
2012-11	1471	310	943	174	43
2012-12	1489	302	950	189	48

2013	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2013-01	1349	336	803	157	52
2013-02	1545	265	1056	172	51
2013-03	1412	313	873	188	37
2013-04	1471	335	924	163	46
2013-05	1549	300	1028	171	47
2013-06	1602	307	1050	180	64
2013-07	1632	349	1057	170	54
2013-08	1509	311	969	174	53
2013-09	1485	341	946	152	44
2013-10	1414	256	950	160	48
2013-11	1352	221	914	175	40
2013-12	1348	255	918	142	33

2014	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2014-01	1495	293	951	194	57
2014-02	1458	336	921	151	47
2014-03	1405	324	881	156	37
2014-04	1420	329	903	132	56
2014-05	1285	292	846	92	49
2014-06	1210	325	725	123	36
2014-07	1335	276	863	136	58
2014-08	1199	250	798	113	38
2014-09	1450	396	878	130	46
2014-10	1273	238	874	115	45
2014-11	1359	329	876	116	37
2014-12	1366	329	840	143	53

2015	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2015-01	1129	218	766	109	34
2015-02	1301	300	854	114	33
2015-03	1213	268	811	108	26
2015-04	1236	264	808	129	34
2015-05	1208	227	836	130	15
2015-06	1289	261	861	121	40
2015-07	1120	184	783	111	42
2015-08	1347	291	887	138	30
2015-09	1147	231	772	108	36
2015-10	1173	165	850	125	33
2015-11	1236	250	834	129	23
2015-12	1152	195	839	90	26

2016	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2016-01	1252	254	862	104	32
2016-02	1101	208	776	94	23
2016-03	1214	258	830	101	25
2016-04	1220	219	851	111	39
2016-05	1222	230	830	119	43
2016-06	1209	198	870	108	33
2016-07	1184	223	804	126	30
2016-08	1183	234	827	103	19
2016-09	1255	243	860	119	29
2016-10	1281	301	833	129	18
2016-11	1287	265	871	117	34
2016-12	1261	253	874	114	20

2017	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations
2017-01	1275	248	881	115	31
2017-02	1344	246	942	130	26
2017-03	1285	219	931	106	29
2017-04	1332	224	975	107	25
2017-05	1081	266	677	111	26
2017-06	1108	209	752	113	34
2017-07	1242	270	858	88	26
2017-08	1142	217	793	104	28
2017-09	1256	240	871	117	28
2017-10	1074	214	742	104	14
2017-11	1161	176	859	102	24
2017-12	1270	219	915	119	17

2018	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2018-01	1310	205	937	116	52
2018-02	1353	269	941	119	23
2018-03	1263	239	877	120	27
2018-04	1191	235	808	115	33
2018-05	1342	232	980	104	26
2018-06	1394	285	944	129	36
2018-07	1428	206	1028	166	28
2018-08	1545	379	1020	110	36
2018-09	1412	254	1008	119	31
2018-10	1339	275	925	109	30
2018-11	1322	241	929	132	20
2018-12	1153	269	743	125	16

2019	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2019-01	1566	245	1108	171	42
2019-02	1249	239	863	124	23
2019-03	1509	252	1063	165	29
2019-04	1464	288	1015	135	26
2019-05	1365	280	953	101	31
2019-06	1505	276	1024	170	35
2019-07	1430	242	990	159	39
2019-08	1477	254	1013	180	30
2019-09	1479	231	1071	154	22
2019-10	1466	194	1090	146	36
2019-11	1495	252	1071	151	21
2019-12	1164	188	795	160	21

2020	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2020-01	1380	234	962	152	32
2020-02	1425	231	1026	148	19
2020-03	1132	187	813	114	18
2020-04	1215	126	937	130	21
2020-05	1032	39	853	128	12
2020-06	717	70	525	108	14
2020-07	975	171	586	201	17
2020-08	858	104	626	112	15
2020-09	899	51	715	102	31
2020-10	886	59	709	97	21
2020-11	888	35	766	72	15
2020-12	1223	47	968	163	45

2021	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2021-01	792	45	649	77	21
2021-02	754	37	654	57	6
2021-03	906	33	801	62	10
2021-04	899	37	790	67	5
2021-05	1096	38	1000	51	6
2021-06	1140	35	1046	45	14
2021-07	1129	43	1033	47	6
2021-08	1365	46	1263	54	2
2021-09	1449	32	1326	79	12
2021-10	1483	47	1327	93	16
2021-11	1591	44	1450	87	10
2021-12	1454	55	1314	78	7

2022	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2022-01	1667	111	1464	79	13
2022-02	1666	92	1460	111	3
2022-03	1858	142	1600	107	9
2022-04	2063	118	1831	104	10
2022-05	1866	158	1603	91	14
2022-06	1612	144	1357	102	8
2022-07	1932	138	1695	94	5
2022-08	1874	175	1578	108	13
2022-09	1719	224	1402	82	11
2022-10	1985	225	1650	105	5
2022-11	1867	238	1497	122	10
2022-12	2026	205	1684	127	10

2023	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2023-01	1772	183	1480	95	14
2023-02	1969	198	1651	108	12
2023-03	2195	296	1767	119	13
2023-04	1823	234	1460	117	12
2023-05	2482	207	2092	153	30
2023-06	2075	250	1666	145	14
2023-07	1794	242	1399	134	19
2023-08	2241	260	1783	186	11
2023-09	2109	270	1701	127	11
2023-10	2255	222	1868	141	23
2023-11	2258	288	1839	119	12
2023-12	2192	189	1865	123	15

2024	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2024-01	1827	303	1381	127	16
2024-02	2194	266	1756	160	12
2024-03	1827	274	1444	100	9
2024-04	2172	281	1724	149	18
2024-05	1932	264	1530	119	19
2024-06	2423	289	1934	177	23
2024-07	2058	298	1597	138	25
2024-08	1904	273	1500	111	20
2024-09	1939	237	1535	150	17
2024-10	1703	175	1412	102	12
2024-11	1978	276	1554	133	14
2024-12	1924	304	1472	131	17

2025	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2025-01	2037	290	1596	137	14
2025-02	2025	384	1516	118	7
2025-03	1995	287	1562	129	17
2025-04	2058	372	1557	104	24
2025-05	2216	345	1722	135	14
2025-06	2033	325	1576	117	15
2025-07	2058	333	1569	144	12
2025-08	2015	304	1576	119	16
2025-09	1964	277	1545	125	17
2025-10	2006	314	1553	122	17
2025-11	1848	254	1434	141	18
2025-12	1686	249	1318	104	15

2026	Number of Insolvencies	Compulsory Liquidations	CVLs	Administrations	CVAs
2026-01	1759	257	1330	158	13
2026-02	1895	253	1477	155	10
2026-03	2022	299	1468	235	20
2026-04	2085	371	1510	183	20
2026-05	1868	285	1423	135	25

Advice Article

UK Insolvency Statistics by Month (May 2026)

What happens when a business becomes insolvent?

Actions following insolvency:

May 2026

Past 3 Months Total 2026

Insolvencies by month since 2000