Corporate insolvencies rose 3% year-on-year in the first quarter, figures from Deloitte show.
There were 213 corporate insolvency appointments in Q1, up from 206 in the same period of 2025 and consistent with Q1 2024.
Creditors’ voluntary liquidation accounted for seven in 10 insolvencies in the first three months of 2026 (149), up 16% from Q1 2025 (129).
As a result, company-led closures, which accounted for an average of 70% of all insolvencies in the five years from 2021 to 2025, have returned to “natural levels”.
The average age of companies that entered a creditors’ voluntary liquidation was 14 years, up from 13 years in 2025, show a level consistency.
Only 19 companies that entered a CVL in Q1 2026 were below five…