Insolvency IntelligenceJuly 2026Published August 2026

UK Insolvency Intelligence
July 2026

2,108 total appointments in July 2026, down 8% year-on-year. Administration and CVA activity rose to 146, while routine CVL and other appointments fell by 231. Begbies Traynor led the monthly SPK Index and moved ahead of FRP Advisory on the cumulative 2026 index.

Simon Carter, CCO

Insolvency Intelligence

2,108

Total Appointments

-8% vs Jul 2025

146

Admin / CVA

+9 vs Jul 2025

412

MVL

+27 vs Jul 2025

1,550

CVL / Other

-231 vs Jul 2025

SummarySectorsFirmsNotableSPK by Region

Executive Summary

July brought 2,108 appointments, 195 fewer than a year earlier, an 8% fall, with the year-to-date total now 16,675. Administrations and CVAs were the only category rising over the year, with 146 in the month and 1,007 year to date, up 120 on the equivalent 2025 period.

The composition of activity remains more important than the headline. MVLs increased by 27 in July to 412, but remain 310 below the 2025 cumulative pace. CVL and other appointments fell by 231 in the month and are 726 lower year to date. This points to fewer routine liquidations, alongside continued pressure in complex and leveraged businesses.

Independent education ran through the month's larger cases, with six education businesses entering administration. Other notable appointments included Magnet, Torsion Construction, Superbike Factory Group, Turtle Bay Hospitality, Flower & Hayes and ES Media Group.

Insolvency appointment summary - July 2025 vs July 2026
TypeJul 2025Jul 2026Mvmt2025 YTD2026 YTDYTD Mvmt
Admin / CVA137146+98871,007+120
MVL385412+274,9114,601-310
CVL / Other1,7811,550-23111,79311,067-726
Total2,3032,108-19517,59116,675-916

Excludes Official Receiver and subsidiary appointments. YTD = January to July cumulative.

  • Begbies Traynor tops the monthly SPK Index at 1,095 points from 231 appointments, including 16 Admin/CVA appointments. FRP Advisory follows at 815 points from 98 appointments.
  • Begbies Traynor moves into the cumulative lead at 9,057 points, ahead of FRP Advisory on 8,862. The result reflects a difference in approach: Begbies recorded 1,763 cumulative appointments against FRP's 884.
  • Admin/CVA activity remains above the 2025 pace with 1,007 appointments in January to July 2026 compared with 887 in the same period last year, an increase of 120.
  • Education and hospitality stood out in notable cases with six education administrations, including Magnet, Kirkham Grammar School, Turtle Bay Hospitality and multiple independent schools.

Sector Breakdown (Non-MVL)

Cumulative year-to-date comparison by sector for January to July 2026 versus January to July 2025. Food and beverage services remains the largest category, while building construction, real estate, human health, financial services, manufacturing and education are above the 2025 pace.

Insolvency appointments by sector - YTD January to July 2025 vs 2026
Sector2025 YTD2026 YTDMvmt
Food & beverage services1,7951,713-82
Specialist construction1,2341,166-68
Retail trade1,073945-128
Building construction738745+7
Office & business support609555-54
Personal services (other)554529-25
Wholesale trade551481-70
IT programming / consulting475455-20
Head offices & consultancy396358-38
Real estate347355+8
Wholesale & retail trade345311-34
Employment services303293-10
Land transport & pipelines258257-1
Prof, scientific & tech248204-44
Human health195198+3
Financial services excl ins167182+15
Architecture & engineering182182-
Manufacturing (metal)159173+14
Sports & recreation173166-7
Education134138+4
Building + Landscape services176145-31
Manufacturing (other)130131+1
Music / TV / Film Production102115+13
Civil engineering101114+13

Appointments by Firm - SPK Index Leaders

Firms ranked by monthly SPK Index points for July 2026. The cumulative column shows total 2026 SPK points through July. Admin/CVA comparisons are against July 2025.

Insolvency firms ranked by SPK Index - July 2026
#SPKFirmTotalAdmin/CVACVL/OtherMVL2026 SPK
11,095Begbies Traynor23116176399,057
2815FRP Advisory981465198,862
3515Leonard Curtis691043163,648
4323Quantuma61544122,113
5320Interpath642-2,606
6251Opus2751571,348
7224RSM103341,261
8202KR8541-856
9179SFP63151111,492
10178Forvis Mazars10181661
11174Kroll5212762
12167PwC1913151,884
13144BDO2021711,222
14144Antony Batty & Co222173707
15122Moorfields Advisory13454807
16108KRE Corporate Recovery182115812
17104KBL Advisory10271762
1899Leading Business Services51456-691
1995Marshall Peters152121673
2090JT Maxwell26125-753

About the SPK Index: The SPK Index is a proprietary algorithm managed by Spark that scores appointments using procedure type, company size and complexity factors such as property holdings, secured lenders and group structure. Read the full methodology →

Notable Appointments

Selected high-profile insolvency appointments notified in July 2026. Financial details are taken from the most recently filed accounts at Companies House.

Notable insolvency appointments - July 2026
CompanyIP FirmTypeRegionKey filing detailLenders
Flower & Hayes LimitedForvis MazarsAdminSouth West£9.8m property assets, £17.0m net assets, 17 staffB.I.G Finance, Barclays, Close Brothers, MT Finance
Magnet LimitedInterpathCVANorth East£37.2m net assets, 1,785 staffCynergy Business Finance
Torsion Construction LimitedInterpathAdminYorkshire / Humber£165.4m turnover, £2.7m net assets, 147 staffBibby Finance
Kirkham Grammar SchoolKrollAdminNorth West£9.6m turnover, £3.4m net assets, 176 staffNatWest
Superbike Factory Group LimitedKR8AdminNorth West£82.8m turnover, £9.7m net assets, 292 staff, 2-company groupCapital Bank
Woodville Consultants LimitedKrollAdminLondon£56.0m turnover, £12.6m net assets, £243.6m other debts-
Ruthin Education LimitedFRP AdvisoryAdminWales£7.4m property assets, £5.3m net assets, 127 staff-
Horizon Legal LimitedRSMAdminLondon£4.2m turnover, £17.3m trade debtors, £4.5m net assets-
L Burridge LtdFTI ConsultingAdminLondon£14.9m turnover, 1,129 staff-
Turtle Bay Hospitality LimitedInterpathCVASouth West£84.3m turnover, £43.0m property assets, 2,042 staffSantander
ES Media Group LimitedBegbies TraynorAdminSouth East£48.3m turnover, £12.7m net assets, 211 staff, 3-company groupHSBC
Northamptonshire Independent Grammar School CharityFRP AdvisoryAdminEast of England£4.3m turnover, £4.5m net assets, 60 staffBarclays Bank
Equinox Maintenance LimitedLeonard CurtisAdminNorthern Ireland£-732k net assets, 140 staffInvestec Capital
Safe Dig Utilities LtdRSMAdminSouth East£3.1m debts, £4.8m property assets, £1.5m net assetsAllica Bank, Genesis Asset Finance
Total Waste Management LimitedFTS RecoveryAdminSouth East£41.5m turnover, £1.4m net assets, 2-company groupSantander
Muscle Foods LimitedMackay GoodwinAdminEast Midlands£23.0m turnover, £-733k net assets, 92 staffBizcap, Simply Funded
Eduthing LimitedSFPAdminSouth East£16.2m turnover, £146k net assets, 140 staffBibby Finance, Mercia
The London Mint Office LimitedAlvarez & MarsalAdminWales£28.1m turnover, £7.8m net assets, 248 staffHSBC
Mechatherm International LimitedPwCAdminMidlands£23.4m turnover, £-1.2m net assets, £-3.3m estimated PBTBarclays Bank
Abbotsholme School LimitedCowgillsAdminMidlands£3.6m property assets, £-1.5m net assets, 116 staffNatWest

SPK Index Points by Region

Top firms by cumulative SPK Index points in each of the 12 Spark sales regions through July 2026. SPK points reflect weighted appointment complexity rather than raw volume.

01. North East

  1. FRP Advisory1,566
  2. Begbies Traynor1,045
  3. KBL Advisory157
  4. RMT137
  5. Interpath120

02. North West

  1. FRP Advisory4,845
  2. Begbies Traynor2,199
  3. Leonard Curtis1,652
  4. KR8472
  5. Interpath401

03. Yorkshire / Humber

  1. PwC3,570
  2. FRP Advisory3,527
  3. Begbies Traynor2,216
  4. Interpath1,089
  5. Leonard Curtis417

04. Midlands

  1. FRP Advisory803
  2. Teneo599
  3. Begbies Traynor532
  4. Leonard Curtis330
  5. BDO317

05. East Midlands

  1. FRP Advisory1,411
  2. Begbies Traynor869
  3. CFS Restructuring167
  4. Springfields Business Recovery143
  5. RSM125

06. East of England

  1. FRP Advisory3,277
  2. Begbies Traynor1,930
  3. Leading Business Services254
  4. McTear, Williams and Wood197
  5. SFP159

07. South East

  1. FRP Advisory3,055
  2. Begbies Traynor2,664
  3. Quantuma1,155
  4. Oury Clark604
  5. Alvarez & Marsal418

08. South West

  1. Begbies Traynor559
  2. FRP Advisory489
  3. Monahans210
  4. Kirks Insolvency163
  5. Leonard Curtis162

09. London

  1. FRP Advisory12,031
  2. Begbies Traynor6,075
  3. FTI Consulting2,688
  4. Coots And Boots1,871
  5. Interpath1,403

10. Wales

  1. Begbies Traynor283
  2. SFP95
  3. KR894
  4. Leonard Curtis91
  5. McAlister & Co89

11. Scotland

  1. Interpath449
  2. Begbies Traynor308
  3. Alix Partners305
  4. BDO234
  5. FTI Consulting204

12. Northern Ireland

  1. Keenan Corporate Finance168
  2. KPMG110
  3. McKeague Morgan104
  4. Begbies Traynor64
  5. JT Maxwell54

SPK Index points reflect weighted appointment complexity. Regions reflect Spark Finance sales territories.

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