EY comments on Insolvency Service January 2026 company insolvency data

Simon Edel, Financial Restructuring Partner at EY-Parthenon, said: “The return to growth for company insolvencies and more than 40% month-on-month rise in administration activity in January are the latest signals of the impact of ongoing geopolitical turbulence on businesses and earnings.

“In the last year, we’ve seen firms shift their focus from planning for a return to previous norms, to recalibrating for a global landscape of lower growth, higher costs and rapid technological disruption. This has potentially sharpened their focus on strengthening liquidity to help ease debt pressures.

“Of course, further challenges lie ahead, as companies continue to contend with higher employment costs, subdued consumer confidence and market volatility. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, insolvency has played less of a role in large and complex restructurings. However, in this low growth, high cost environment, more stressed capital structures are likely to require fundamental action to reposition their underlying business, and we expect insolvency could become a necessary part of achieving this.”