The dip that isn’t a recovery
Q1 2026 produced 772 insolvencies, down 17% from Q4 2025’s 936. That is the number being used to argue the worst is over. But the same quarter was 13.9% higher than Q1 2025. The year to March 2026 delivered 3,023 company liquidations, the worst March in 11 years. March alone recorded 286 liquidations and 308 insolvencies.
A quarterly dip off a record peak is not a turning point. It is a pause.
BWA Insolvency principal Bryan Williams initially suggested in May that business stress may have peaked late last year. By this month he was more cautious, warning that the easing should not be mistaken for a full recovery, citing elevated input costs, supply-side risk and falling consumer…