Construction Insolvencies Fall in November 2025

In November 2025, 297 construction companies registered as insolvent, accounting for 15.7% of all insolvencies in England and Wales.

This was 65 fewer than was recorded in October 2025 and 24 fewer than the 321 recorded in November 2024, according to the latest data from The Insolvency Service.

By rough comparison, construction firms accounted for 14% of all registered businesses in the UK as of September 2025.

The largest proportion of construction insolvencies were among firms providing specialised construction activities with 158 recorded in November – 37 fewer than were recorded in October.

Year-on-Year

The total number of construction firms becoming insolvent in the 12 months to the end of November 2025 was 3,950. This was a 4.0% decrease on the 4,114 insolvencies recorded in the year ending in November 2024 and a 22.6% increase on the 3,221 in pre-pandemic 2019.

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

The Insolvency Service said that 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 November 2025 was 52.5 per 10,000 companies.

Scotland Insolvencies

In Scotland, there were 12 construction company insolvencies in December 2025, one more than the 11 recorded in November 2025, and accounting for 10.8% of all insolvencies in the country.

This took the total for the whole of 2025 to 191 – a 5.5% decrease on the 202 recorded in 2024 and a 7.7% fall on the 207 recorded 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.

Further data released by The Insolvency Service show that 267, or 23%, of self-employed or trader bankruptcies in the 12 months to October 2025 were in construction in England and Wales.

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