Construction Insolvencies Down in April 2025

CONSTRUCTION insolvencies were down 13.8% in April 2025 compared to the previous month.

Overall, construction firms accounted for 15.7% of all insolvencies in England and Wales in April 2025 according to the Insolvency Service, with 324 registered construction businesses becoming insolvent. This was 52 less insolvencies than March 2025.

By rough comparison, construction firms accounted for 14% of all registered businesses in the UK in 2024.

The majority of construction insolvencies (202) were among firms classified as providing specialised construction activities. This group experienced the same number of insolvencies in April as in March while civil engineering insolvencies fell to their lowest level in over a year.

Year-on-Year

The total number of construction firms becoming insolvent in the 12 months to the end of April 2025 was 4,032.

This was an 8.7% decrease on the 4,416 insolvencies recorded in the year to April 2024, and a 25.3% increase on the 3,217 in pre-pandemic 2019.

Of all cases where the industry was captured in the statistics, construction experienced the highest number of insolvencies in the year to April 2025.

The Insolvency Service said 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. The rate in the year to the end of May 2025 was 53.0 per 10,000 companies.

Scotland Insolvencies

In Scotland, there were 26 construction company insolvencies in May 2025, accounting for 19.5% of all insolvencies in the country. This was the highest number of insolvencies since the 32 recorded in November 2022 and 10 more than the number seen in April 2025. On the annual comparison, Scottish insolvencies rose by nine.

The total for the 12-month period to May 2025 was 202, which was three more than the 199 insolvencies in the year to May 2024, and a 2.4% decrease on the 207 in pre-pandemic 2019.

Within the industry, firms classified as providing specialised construction activities are consistently the most affected across Great Britain. However, analysis shows that their numbers are proportional to their overall share within the construction sector.

This category includes companies providing a range of work, typically on a subcontract basis, from demolition and site preparation to electrical and plumbing installation, and finishing work like plastering, painting and glazing.

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