2,020 companies in the UK entered administration, creditors' voluntary liquidation or compulsory liquidation in October 2026, according to a Small Cap News count of insolvency notices published in The Gazette. The total was up 1.3% from 1,995 in September 2026 and down 9.8% from 2,239 in October 2025.
Separately, 970 solvent companies began members' voluntary liquidations in October 2026, up 80% from 539 in September 2026 and up 47% from 662 in October 2025. A members' voluntary liquidation is used to close a company that can pay its debts in full: it is a solvent closure, not a business failure, and these companies are not counted in the insolvency total. The notices do not give reasons for the closures.
Of the insolvent companies, 1,572 were creditors' voluntary liquidations, 303 were compulsory liquidations ordered by the courts and 146 were administrations. One company appears under two procedures in the month and is counted once in the total.
Administrations were up 18% from 124 on the month, creditors' voluntary liquidations up 1.9% from 1,542 and compulsory liquidations down 8.5% from 331.
Construction accounted for the largest number, 386, followed by accommodation and food services (286) and wholesale and retail trade (268). The sector of 17 companies could not be matched from Companies House records.
By region, London had the most, 470, followed by the North West (275) and the South East (259).
A further 729 winding-up petitions against companies were published in the month. A petition is a creditor's application to the court and does not by itself mean a company is insolvent.
How we count
Each company is counted once per procedure in the month, from notices published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes. Creditors' voluntary liquidations are counted from the resolution or the appointment of liquidators, compulsory liquidations from the winding-up order, members' voluntary liquidations from the resolution or the appointment of liquidators. These are counts of Gazette notices, not the Insolvency Service's official statistics, which are based on Companies House registrations and can differ.
Source: The Gazette insolvency notices and Companies House records, analysed by Small Cap News.