UK winding-up petitions are rising sharply in 2026, and HMRC is driving it

Have UK winding-up petitions increased in 2026?

Yes, substantially. Petitions filed January to May 2026 totalled 2,711, more than double the 1,020 filed in the same period of 2025, and already more than double the full-year 2024 total of 1,219. On a rolling 12-month basis, petitions reached 5,648 in the year to May 2026, up 230.3% on the 1,710 recorded in the year to May 2025.

This is not simply a rebound from an unusually quiet period. Full-year petitions fell to 1,219 in 2024, down 49.9% on 2,435 in 2023, before surging to 3,957 in 2025, a rise of 224.6% on 2024 and 62.5% above the pre-slowdown 2023 level. Current volumes therefore sit well above anything seen since at least 2023, not just above the 2024 trough.

The increase has been broad-based across the last twelve months. Every month from June 2025 to April 2026 recorded a year-on-year rise of at least 156%, with several months, including August 2025 (+488.3%) and January 2026 (+355.2%), more than quadrupling on the prior year. The most recent month, May 2026, shows a smaller year-on-year rise of 35.6%, suggesting the pace of acceleration may be easing even as absolute volumes remain elevated.

Key Insights

• Rolling 12-month petitions to May 2026 reached 5,648, up 230.3% on the 1,710 recorded in the 12 months to May 2025.
• 2026 YTD petitions (2,711) already exceed the whole of 2024 (1,219) by more than double, with seven months of the year still to go.
• Full-year 2025 petitions (3,957) were 224.6% above 2024 and 62.5% above 2023 (2,435), showing the rise goes beyond a low-base rebound.
• Every month from June 2025 to April 2026 posted year-on-year growth of at least 156%, with August 2025 the sharpest single month at +488.3%.
• Growth eased to +35.6% year on year in May 2026, the smallest monthly rise in almost a year, even though the 548 petitions filed was the second-highest monthly total in the dataset.
• HMRC is estimated to be the petitioner in around 60% of current cases, indicating renewed tax enforcement activity alongside broader creditor pressure.

Winding-up petitions by period

What this means

The scale and consistency of the increase, sustained across almost every month for a year, points to genuine financial stress building in the system rather than a short-lived spike. With an estimated 60% of petitions involving HMRC, much of the current activity looks tied to tax enforcement rather than purely commercial credit disputes, consistent with HMRC resuming more assertive collection action after a quieter 2024. The easing in year-on-year growth in May 2026 (+35.6%) is worth watching: it may indicate volumes are stabilising at a structurally higher level rather than continuing to accelerate. Lenders and credit teams should treat elevated petition volumes as an early warning indicator for portfolio stress, particularly among businesses with outstanding tax liabilities, and monitor whether the deceleration seen in the latest month persists over the coming quarter.