More UK businesses are going under as pressures mount

The small uptick in overall company insolvencies in October, alongside a more significant 19% year-on-year rise in administration activity, are the latest signals of the enduring effects of ongoing economic, policy, geopolitical, and earnings pressures that businesses are having to contend with. 

The number of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales was 2,029 in October 2025, 2% higher than in September 2025 (1,995) and 17% higher than the same month in the previous year (1,739 in October 2024).

Monthly company insolvency numbers so far in 2025 have been slightly higher than in 2024, but slightly lower than in 2023, which saw a 30-year high annual number of insolvencies.

While the insolvency rate has increased since the lows seen in 2020 and 2021, it remains much lower than the peak of 113.1 per 10,000 companies seen during the 2008-09 recession. This is because the number of companies on the effective register has more than doubled over this period.

Commenting on the data, Simon Edel (Financial Restructuring Partner at EY-Parthenon) noted that many firms are still struggling to offset higher employment costs – either through pricing or productivity gains – whilst also contending with structural changes to their markets and external threats, including cyberattacks. 

“Companies are now bracing themselves for what could be another difficult Autumn Budget, and further challenges will lie ahead. In this turbulent economic environment, they should remain focused on strengthening liquidity to ease debt pressures,” he said.

“Since the 2008 global financial crisis, insolvency has played less of a role in complex restructurings. However,  with persistent economic uncertainty, rising distress, and challenges like liquidity constraints and value erosion, we expect it to become more common as companies and stakeholders seek ways to protect value.  

“Being able to demonstrate a reliable and measured scenario-based forecasting approach, alongside a robust trading performance, will be crucial to building stakeholder confidence and avoiding difficulties when it comes to refinancing.”