Construction remains the most exposed sector as June corporate failures hold steady but long-term volumes stay high.

Published on 17^th July 2026

Construction Insolvencies England and Wales: June 2026 Update

Overview

Registered company insolvencies in England and Wales flattened out in June 2026. This stabilisation follows the sharp 10% drop we saw in May.

The Insolvency Service recorded 1,845 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales during June. This figure is almost identical to May 2026 (1,849). However, it sits 10% lower than the same month last year (2,048 in June 2025).

While a flat month suggests a moment of calm, business failures remain firmly plateaued. For construction firms, the day-to-day reality has not shifted. The trading environment is still highly challenging, meaning keeping a close eye on your supply chain is as important as ever.

(Note: You can view the full dataset on the official Insolvency Service page).

Headline figures at a glance

• Total Insolvencies: The department recorded 1,845 company insolvencies across England and Wales in June 2026.
• Month-on-Month Change: Figures held completely steady, shifting by less than 1% compared to May 2026 (1,849).
• Year-on-Year Change: Figures dropped by 10% compared to June 2025 (2,048).
• Top Impacted Sector: Construction remains the most vulnerable industry. It historically takes the biggest hit, accounting for roughly 17% of all business failures over the last year.

Construction: ongoing pressure beneath the headlines

While overall business numbers flattened across England and Wales, the underlying pressures facing the construction sector haven’t gone away. Construction consistently tops the list for business failures.

In fact, the official June data reveals significant shifts when you look at specific trades:

• Building Developers & Main Builders: Failures rose from 108 in May to 127 in June. This was driven heavily by residential and commercial builders jumping from 51 to 68.
• Specialised Subcontractors: Overall trade failures held flat at 173. However, electrical and plumbing installations saw a sharp spike, rising from 65 to 74.
• Civil Engineering: Offered a rare bright spot, easing down from 15 cases to 9.

Because construction relies on a heavily interconnected network, cash flow remains the biggest risk. Financial stress at the developer level quickly dominoes down the supply chain, causing sudden bad debt exposure for the specialist trades carrying the project delivery costs.

What’s driving the June numbers?

A closer look at the data shows that June’s flat numbers hide some significant shifts in how businesses are failing:

• Another Real Estate Administration Spike: Administrations jumped by 45% compared to May. This spike was heavily driven by a single cluster of approximately 60 connected companies in the real estate sector entering insolvency.
• Drop in Voluntary Closures: Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations (CVLs) dropped by 3% compared to May, and sit 15% lower than June 2025. However, CVLs still made up the vast majority (74%) of June’s total.
• Compulsory Actions Eased Slightly: Compulsory liquidations fell by 2% month-on-month and dropped 15% compared to this time last year, showing a slight easing in aggressive winding-up actions.

A longer-term view

Over the last 12 months, the rolling insolvency rate sat at 50.5 per 10,000 active companies. This means roughly one in 198 registered companies entered insolvency. This is a minor decrease from the 52.4 per 10,000 we saw in the 12 months ending June 2025.

Insolvency rates are still well below the historic peaks of 113.1 per 10,000 companies seen during the 2008–09 recession. This is because the total number of registered companies in the UK has more than doubled since then. Despite that statistical buffer, the underlying volumes of failures stay high, meaning credit managers cannot afford to let their guard down.

What this means for construction businesses

The June data shows a moment of stabilisation, but sector risk remains static. In an environment where profit margins are thin, a proactive approach to credit control is your best defence:

• Tighten your customer checks: Do not rely on past relationships. Check real-time credit positions before starting new phases of work, not just at the start of a contract.
• Watch how fast you’re getting paid: A sudden slowdown in how quickly a client settles your invoices is almost always the very first warning sign of internal cash flow issues.
• Act early on overdue invoices: Be decisive with your credit control. This prevents a client’s payment delay from putting your own cash position at risk.
• Spread your risk: Review your projects and clients. Ensure your business isn’t overly dependent on one major contract for its core revenue.
• Keep communication open: Talk to your clients regularly. If you do this, you can spot and sort out potential payment roadblocks early.

Our view

June’s flatlining insolvency numbers provide a steady baseline, but it does not mean the pressure is entirely off. From what we see on the ground day-to-day, construction firms are still finding the trading environment highly demanding.

Firms are managing to protect their margins if they maintain strong visibility over their cash flow. Robust credit management and proactive debt recovery aren’t just administrative tasks right now. They are essential tools to keep your cash flowing and your projects moving forward safely.

How can we help

Are you starting to notice delays in customer payments? Do you want to check your current credit risk exposure? Our specialist construction credit and debt recovery team is here to support you.

We use live credit insights and practical, straightforward recovery strategies. As a result, we help you stay in control of your ledger, protect your business against third-party failures, and make commercial decisions with absolute confidence.