UK Insolvency Intelligence
– January 2026
Monthly analysis of insolvency practitioner appointments recorded at Companies House. January 2026 saw a 9% decline in total appointments year-on-year, with reductions across most sectors.
Executive Summary
January 2026 recorded 1,650 total insolvency appointments, down from 1,813 in January 2025 – a decline of 163 appointments (−9%). The decrease was broad-based:
- Admin / CVA: 107 (down from 111, −4)
- MVL: 427 (up from 413, +14)
- Other: 1,116 (down from 1,289, −173)
The "Other" category, which includes creditors' voluntary liquidations and compulsory windings up, drove the bulk of the reduction. MVLs (Members' Voluntary Liquidations) continued to rise, reflecting ongoing solvent company wind-downs.
Sector Breakdown (Non-MVL)
Most sectors saw year-on-year declines, with notable exceptions in building construction, employment services, and human health.
| Sector | Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 | Mvmt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food & beverage services | 196 | 182 | −14 |
| Specialist construction | 122 | 107 | −15 |
| Retail trade | 117 | 99 | −18 |
| Building construction | 79 | 85 | +6 |
| Office & business support | 63 | 55 | −8 |
| IT programming / consulting | 56 | 50 | −6 |
| Personal services (other) | 58 | 49 | −9 |
| Head offices & consultancy | 52 | 45 | −7 |
| Wholesale trade | 64 | 39 | −25 |
| Real estate | 38 | 38 | – |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 51 | 32 | −19 |
| Employment services | 20 | 31 | +11 |
| Prof, scientific & tech | 34 | 24 | −10 |
| Land transport & pipelines | 30 | 23 | −7 |
| Sports & recreation | 19 | 18 | −1 |
| Human health | 13 | 18 | +5 |
| Financial services excl ins | 18 | 17 | −1 |
| Manufacturing (metal) | 23 | 16 | −7 |
| Architecture & engineering | 14 | 16 | +2 |
| Education | 13 | 15 | +2 |
| Repair / installation of equipment | 16 | 15 | −1 |
| Advertising & market research | 11 | 15 | +4 |
| Civil engineering | 10 | 14 | +4 |
| Manufacturing (other) | 18 | 13 | −5 |
Appointments by Firm – Top 25
Ranked by SPK Index score for January 2026, with breakdown by appointment type. The SPK Index weights appointment volume, complexity by company size, and appointment type to provide a more nuanced ranking than raw appointment counts alone.
| # | SPK | Firm | Total | Admin/CVA | Other | MVL | Jan 25 | vs 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 859 | FRP Advisory | 96 | 13 | 60 | 23 | 17 | −4 |
| 2 | 712 | Interpath | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | +2 |
| 3 | 658 | Begbies Traynor | 190 | 7 | 153 | 30 | 8 | −1 |
| 4 | 603 | Leonard Curtis | 59 | 11 | 34 | 14 | 11 | – |
| 5 | 289 | RSM | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | +3 |
| 6 | 261 | SFP | 93 | 4 | 63 | 26 | 1 | +3 |
| 7 | 238 | BDO | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | +2 |
| 8 | 237 | FTI Consulting | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | +1 |
| 9 | 163 | KR8 | 3 | – | 3 | – | – | +3 |
| 10 | 163 | Quantuma | 33 | 3 | 22 | 8 | 6 | −3 |
| 11 | 162 | KBL Advisory | 7 | – | 5 | 2 | 3 | +2 |
| 12 | 159 | PKF Littlejohn | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | 1 | +1 |
| 13 | 132 | Alvarez & Marsal | 2 | 2 | – | – | 2 | – |
| 14 | 125 | EY | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | – | +1 |
| 15 | 114 | Purnells | 17 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 1 | +1 |
| 16 | 111 | Arafino Advisory | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | +2 |
| 17 | 106 | FTS Recovery | 14 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 1 | – |
| 18 | 99 | Marshall Peters | 18 | 2 | 16 | – | – | +2 |
| 19 | 96 | Opus | 22 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 4 | −3 |
| 20 | 86 | JT Maxwell | 27 | 1 | 26 | – | 1 | – |
| 21 | 79 | Kroll Advisory | 5 | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | – |
| 22 | 75 | Teneo | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | −3 |
| 23 | 74 | Kirks Insolvency | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | – | +1 |
| 24 | 70 | Anderson Brookes | 37 | – | 36 | 1 | – | – |
| 25 | 65 | Clarke Bell | 35 | 5 | 30 | – | – | – |
About the SPK Index: The SPK Index is a proprietary algorithm managed by Spark that ranks firms based on a weighted combination of appointment volume, complexity (by company size), and appointment type. A firm with fewer appointments but higher-complexity cases can outrank a firm with higher raw volume. Read the full methodology →
Appointments by Region
Top firms by raw appointment count in each UK region for January 2026.
01. North East
- Begbies Traynor12
- RMT6
- FRP Advisory5
- Kre Corporate Recovery3
- Northpoint2
02. North West
- Leonard Curtis26
- Anderson Brookes18
- Begbies Traynor11
- CMW Business Rescue10
- FRP Advisory10
03. Yorkshire / Humber
- Begbies Traynor15
- DSI Business Recovery12
- CB Business Recovery7
- FRP Advisory6
- Leonard Curtis6
04. Midlands
- Begbies Traynor13
- Anderson Brookes6
- Griffin and King6
- FRP Advisory5
- Leonard Curtis5
05. East Midlands
- Frost Group12
- Begbies Traynor7
- CFS Restructuring4
- FTS Recovery4
- BDO2
06. East of England
- Begbies Traynor28
- Leading Business Services15
- FRP Advisory8
- McTear, Williams and Wood5
- BRI Business Recovery3
07. South East
- Begbies Traynor40
- FRP Advisory36
- Quantuma31
- SFP27
- Clarke Bell14
08. South West
- Begbies Traynor18
- Purnells9
- Kirks Insolvency8
- Undebt.co.uk7
- SFP6
09. London
- SFP47
- Begbies Traynor32
- FRP Advisory16
- CMB Partners UK13
- MVL Online11
10. Wales
- McAlister & Co8
- Begbies Traynor7
- Purnells3
- Menzies3
- Parkin S Booth2
11. Scotland
- Begbies Traynor7
- Deloitte3
- MHA2
- AAB2
- Wbg Services2
12. Northern Ireland
- KPMG2
- Keenan Corporate Finance2
- Rachel Fowler Advisory1
- McKeague Morgan1
- Philmore & Co1
Notable Appointments
Selected high-profile insolvency appointments from January 2026, showing firm, type, and key financial details from the most recent filed accounts.
| Company | IP Firm | Type | Region | Turnover | Staff | Lenders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batt Cables | EY | Admin | South East | £202.7m | 290 | Chiltern, HSBC, PNC |
| C.F. Booth | Interpath | Admin | Yorkshire | £113.6m | 256 | IGF, Natwest |
| Gunning Transmission | Interpath | Admin | South East | £96.5m | – | HSBC |
| Senapt | FTS Recovery | Admin | South East | £66.1m | 72 | – |
| Farwig (Russell & Bromley) | Interpath | Admin | London | £62.9m | 481 | Natwest |
| Caldwell Construction | PKF Littlejohn | Admin | Midlands | £58.4m | 49 | Bibby Finance, Lloyds |
| Moores Furniture Group | Interpath | Admin | Yorkshire | £58.2m | 490 | Bibby Finance, Natwest |
| Petrofac Facilities Mgmt | Teneo | CVA | Scotland | £653.6m | 2,427 | Natwest |
| Revolucion De Cuba | FTI Consulting | Admin | London | £42.8m | 755 | Natwest |
| E.J. Taylor & Sons | FRP Advisory | Admin | South East | £41.1m | 140 | Barclays, Wedo Finance |
Financial details from most recent publicly filed accounts at Companies House. Lender information from charge register. Staff figures from last filing.
SPK Index – Regional Breakdown
Top firms by SPK Index points in each UK region for January 2026.
01. North East
- Leonard Curtis46
- RMT36
- Kre Corporate Recovery35
- Begbies Traynor31
- FRP Advisory14
02. North West
- Leonard Curtis331
- FRP Advisory182
- KBL Advisory113
- Kroll Advisory64
- Marshall Peters56
03. Yorkshire / Humber
- Interpath426
- Leonard Curtis80
- RSM70
- FRP Advisory48
- CB Business Recovery41
04. Midlands
- BDO122
- PKF Littlejohn117
- FRP Advisory94
- Begbies Traynor80
- Moore Recovery46
05. East Midlands
- BDO61
- Forvis Mazars38
- Frost Group26
- Begbies Traynor21
- FTS Recovery14
06. East of England
- FRP Advisory68
- Begbies Traynor56
- McTear, Williams and Wood39
- Leading Business Services31
- Opus10
07. South East
- FRP Advisory219
- Begbies Traynor158
- Quantuma158
- EY120
- RSM96
08. South West
- Kirks Insolvency68
- Begbies Traynor63
- FRP Advisory57
- Leonard Curtis56
- BDO46
09. London
- FTI Consulting237
- FRP Advisory166
- SFP150
- Interpath148
- Alvarez & Marsal132
10. Wales
- KR860
- Begbies Traynor51
- McAlister & Co19
- Purnells11
- FRP Advisory7
11. Scotland
- Teneo74
- Begbies Traynor11
- Deloitte5
- Interpath3
- AAB3
12. Northern Ireland
- KPMG50
- Keenan Corporate Finance4
- SCC Chartered Accountants3
- HM Chartered Accountants3
- McAleer Jackson3
Access the Full Report
Want the complete data including appointments by region, IP-level detail, and extended firm rankings? Get in touch with the Spark team.
Contact the Spark TeamMethodology
This report analyses insolvency practitioner appointments recorded at Companies House. Appointments are classified into three categories: Admin/CVA (administrations and company voluntary arrangements), MVL (members' voluntary liquidations – solvent wind-downs), and Other (creditors' voluntary liquidations, compulsory liquidations, and other proceedings).
Where a company group is involved in insolvency proceedings within the reporting period, the group is treated as a single event. Multiple appointments relating to the same company within the same period are not counted separately.
The SPK Index is a proprietary algorithm managed by Spark that ranks firms and practitioners based on a weighted combination of appointment volume, complexity (by company size), and type of appointment.
Due to GDPR restrictions, individual IP names are not disclosed without consent.
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