The latest official figures available for this story are for August 2026: 182 companies entered administration in England and Wales, within 1,946 total company insolvencies. A third-party tracker counted 127 administration notices in the London Gazette in September, but notices are not the same measure as official appointments. That tally does not verify a September low.
What the official figures show
The Insolvency Service recorded 182 administrations in England and Wales in August 2026. Administrations were one of four insolvency types included in the monthly total of 1,946 registered company insolvencies: 1,431 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, 314 compulsory liquidations and 19 company voluntary arrangements. There were no receivership appointments. The total was similar to July’s 1,934 and 3% below the 2,007 recorded in August 2025. The August 2026 official statistics provide the latest official release located for this report.
Why the September “joint low” claim is not established
K2 Partners’ September 2026 London Gazette tracker counted 127 administration notices. It counted 4,899 corporate distress notices across categories overall, compared with 4,502 in August and 4,905 in September 2025. These are Gazette notices, not the Insolvency Service’s official count of companies entering administration. The notice tally therefore cannot establish the official September total or show that it matched a historical low.
The official September statistical release, or a clearly comparable historical series, is needed to verify whether administrations reached a joint September low. Until then, the claim should be treated as unconfirmed rather than as an official statistic.
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August’s increase needs context
Official commentary says administrations in August rose 44% from July and were 60% higher than in August 2025. Those sharp monthly comparisons sit alongside volatility caused by clusters of connected companies. From March to August 2026, more than 250 connected real-estate companies entering administration affected the counts. A concentrated event can lift the monthly figure without, by itself, showing that the same rate of change is occurring across the wider economy.
The previous month’s release illustrates the swings: July recorded 124 administrations, 19% fewer than July 2025. The Insolvency Service also said June’s count had been influenced by about 60 connected real-estate companies. The July 2026 release offers that recent comparison.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the longer-term rate
Monthly counts show the number of insolvencies registered in a particular month; a rolling rate provides a broader view by smoothing single-month volatility. For the 12 months ending August 2026, the official insolvency rate was 50.1 per 10,000 companies, down from 52.5 per 10,000 for the 12 months ending August 2025. The rate uses the effective company register as its denominator. The Insolvency Service says it remains below the 2008–09 peak, in part because the effective register has more than doubled since then. These figures cover overall company insolvencies, not administrations alone.
For construction businesses, the figures are sector-wide company statistics, not a measure of construction insolvencies specifically. They can describe the wider business backdrop, but do not establish the condition of an individual firm or the outlook for a particular trade.
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