Navigating businesses through difficult circumstances, Waterstone provides pragmatic informed advice on business distress scenarios and manages recovery and insolvency appointments for best case outcomes for stakeholders.
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With liquidation numbers on the increase for several years consecutively, we are left wondering where the turning point is and how bad it can get. The answer may not be positive when considering the peak numbers of 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Total annual liquidations have historically been more than 2000 per year from 2003 until 2016, and upwards of 3000 in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
In 2025 total liquidations were 2,867, a 13.5% increase from 2024. Although continuing the upwards trend that started in 2022, the increase is significantly smaller than the 37% jump seen from 2023 to 2024.
Interestingly, December 2025 had 286 liquidations which is the second highest December figure on record since 2001, surpassed only by December 2008, which had 351 liquidations.
Total annual receiverships average per year since 2001 is 166. Annual figures for the decade leading up to 2024 have been consistently below average. The past two years have been slightly above average but still well below numbers seen from 2008 to 2012.
The highest number of receiverships recorded in one year was in 2010 when there were 388. The lowest annual number recorded was in 2022, with just 65 receiverships.
Unlike liquidations, which went up 13.5% from 2024 to 2025, receivership went down with 7.9%.
The position of each industry has not changed substantially over the past two years. By the end of 2025, building and construction comprised 1/4 of liquidations. Notable trades include plumbers, electricians, roofers, and residential construction, who have fallen short of solvency.
The hospitality sector faces similar issues, making up 15% of all liquidations for 2025. Restaurants, cafes and bars are taking the most severe hit, forming close to 40% of failed companies in the industry. Liquidator reports frequently cite spiking food prices, high labour costs, increased excise tax and slipping demand.
Given the minimal assets these businesses hold, there is often little chance of recovery for creditors.
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