UK Insolvency Intelligence
- February 2026
Monthly analysis of insolvency practitioner appointments recorded at Companies House. February 2026 recorded a 12% decline in total appointments year-on-year, with falls across all three appointment types.
Spark Intel Research Team
Data analysis and market intelligence
Executive Summary
February 2026 recorded 2,310 total insolvency appointments, down from 2,612 in February 2025 - a decline of 302 appointments (-12%). All three appointment categories fell year-on-year:
- Admin / CVA: 112 (down from 120, -8) - formal restructuring activity eased slightly
- MVL: 662 (down from 785, -123) - solvent wind-down volumes fell sharply
- CVL / Other: 1,536 (down from 1,707, -171) - creditors' voluntary liquidations continued to decline
On a cumulative 2026 basis (January-February combined), total appointments are down 7% against the same period in 2025, with 4,179 appointments recorded versus 4,514. High-profile administrations included GAME Retail, Fulcrum IT Partners, and FK Group.
Sector Breakdown (Non-MVL)
Year-on-year comparison by sector for February 2026. Human health, manufacturing (metal), music/film, and civil engineering bucked the trend with increases.
| Sector | Feb 2025 | Feb 2026 | Mvmt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food & beverage services | 275 | 225 | -50 |
| Specialist construction | 195 | 161 | -34 |
| Retail trade | 149 | 135 | -14 |
| Building construction | 128 | 109 | -19 |
| Wholesale trade | 96 | 66 | -30 |
| Personal services (other) | 84 | 74 | -10 |
| Office & business support | 78 | 82 | +4 |
| IT programming / consulting | 64 | 47 | -17 |
| Head offices & consultancy | 52 | 58 | +6 |
| Real estate | 47 | 38 | -9 |
| Wholesale & retail trade | 34 | 49 | +15 |
| Land transport & pipelines | 36 | 25 | -11 |
| Human health | 24 | 44 | +20 |
| Employment services | 38 | 37 | -1 |
| Prof, scientific & tech | 27 | 25 | -2 |
| Manufacturing (metal) | 16 | 30 | +14 |
| Sports & recreation | 29 | 25 | -4 |
| Financial services excl ins | 27 | 19 | -8 |
| Architecture & engineering | 16 | 20 | +4 |
| Manufacturing (other) | 22 | 20 | -2 |
| Music / TV / Film production | 12 | 20 | +8 |
| Civil engineering | 15 | 16 | +1 |
| Education | 15 | 16 | +1 |
| Building + Landscape services | 23 | 19 | -4 |
Appointments by Firm - Top 25
Ranked by SPK Index score for February 2026. Comparative columns show Admin/CVA appointments only vs February 2025.
| # | SPK | Firm | Total | Admin/CVA | Other | MVL | Feb 25 | vs 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,196 | Begbies Traynor | 222 | 15 | 171 | 36 | 13 | +2 |
| 2 | 814 | FRP Advisory | 118 | 12 | 84 | 22 | 13 | -1 |
| 3 | 531 | Leonard Curtis | 89 | 9 | 49 | 31 | 15 | -6 |
| 4 | 301 | SFP | 117 | 1 | 65 | 51 | 4 | -3 |
| 5 | 273 | Quantuma | 48 | 5 | 34 | 9 | 7 | -2 |
| 6 | 239 | RSM | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | -1 |
| 7 | 221 | Opus | 34 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 5 | - |
| 8 | 211 | Moorfields Advisory | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 3 | +1 |
| 9 | 184 | Interpath | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | +1 |
| 10 | 176 | Kroll | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | +3 |
| 11 | 165 | KR8 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 1 | +2 |
| 12 | 153 | JT Maxwell | 26 | 3 | 23 | - | 1 | +2 |
| 13 | 142 | Teneo | 5 | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | - |
| 14 | 138 | Clarke Bell | 68 | - | 13 | 55 | - | - |
| 15 | 125 | BDO | 19 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 4 | -2 |
| 16 | 123 | Leading Business Services | 61 | - | 45 | 16 | - | - |
| 17 | 115 | AMS Business Recovery | 15 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | +1 |
| 18 | 104 | Currie Young | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | +2 |
| 19 | 103 | Alix Partners | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | +1 |
| 20 | 103 | Azets | 19 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 2 | - |
| 21 | 92 | Anderson Brookes | 49 | - | 48 | 1 | - | - |
| 22 | 82 | CMB Partners UK | 18 | 1 | 16 | 1 | - | +1 |
| 23 | 80 | KRE Corporate Recovery | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -2 |
| 24 | 76 | Xeinadin Corporate Recovery | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | - |
| 25 | 76 | S&W | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - |
About the SPK Index: The SPK Index is a proprietary algorithm managed by Spark that ranks firms based on a weighted combination of appointment volume, complexity (by company size), and appointment type. A firm with fewer appointments but higher-complexity cases can outrank a firm with higher raw volume. Read the full methodology →
Appointments by Region
Top firms by appointment count in each UK region for February 2026.
01. North East
- Currie Young1
- NTF Financial Solutions1
- Simply Corporate1
- Augusta Kent Limited1
- Smith & Barnes1
02. North West
- Frost Group10
- CFS Restructuring8
- Leading Business Services5
- Blades Insolvency Services4
- Bridgewood Financial Solutions4
03. Yorkshire / Humber
- Bhardwaj Ltd2
- Kreston Reeves1
- Jeremy Knight & Co Ltd1
- Springfields Business Recovery1
- CFS Restructuring1
04. Midlands
- FRP Advisory38
- SFP33
- Quantuma28
- Leonard Curtis16
- Clarke Bell14
05. East Midlands
- CRG Insolvency & Financial Recovery1
- Whiteoak Morris1
- Menzies1
- Butcher Woods1
- BDO1
06. East of England
- Cornerstone5
- EY5
- Antony Batty & Co5
- Panos Eliades Callender5
- Moorfields Advisory5
07. South East
- Anderson Brookes4
- Gaines Robson Insolvency4
- Quantuma3
- Bailey Ahmad3
- BDO3
08. South West
- Leading Business Services2
- McAlister & Co2
- Albert Goodman LLP2
- MVL Online2
- Even Keel Solutions Limited2
09. London
- FRP Advisory17
- Begbies Traynor11
- Northpoint5
- Business Rescue Expert4
- Connect Insolvency4
10. Wales
- Stones & Co7
- McAlister & Co7
- Anderson Brookes4
- Purnells3
- RBW Restructuring1
11. Scotland
- Begbies Traynor13
- Azets11
- Revolution RTI8
- AAB7
- Johnston Carmichael5
12. Northern Ireland
- Keenan Corporate Finance5
- AAB4
- Deloitte3
- Rachel Fowler Advisory2
- BDO2
Notable Appointments
Selected high-profile insolvency appointments from February 2026, ranked by turnover. Financial details from most recently filed accounts at Companies House.
| Company | IP Firm | Type | Region | Turnover | Staff | Lenders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corin Group Holdings | Teneo | MVL | Midlands | £153.7m | 822 | - |
| GAME Retail | KR8 | Admin | South East | £222.6m | 1,923 | - |
| Fulcrum IT Partners | Teneo | Admin | London | £127.6m | 347 | ING |
| FK Group | Begbies Traynor | Admin | North West | £100.6m | 164 | HSBC |
| Amber Bridging | Alix Partners | Admin | London | £55.8m | 1 | - |
| Jerram Falkus Construction | FRP Advisory | Admin | London | £47.6m | 63 | - |
| Stephen Friedman Fine Art | FRP Advisory | Admin | London | £22.9m | 41 | Coutts |
| Euroview Architectural Glass | Begbies Traynor | Admin | South East | £18.5m | 126 | Lombard, Natwest, RBS Invoice Finance |
| Barry M. Cosmetics | Begbies Traynor | Admin | London | £17.4m | 124 | HSBC, HSBC Invoice Finance |
| Crenoon (Afford Rent A Car) | Currie Young | Admin | Midlands | - | 48 | Close Brothers, Lombard |
Financial details from most recent publicly filed accounts at Companies House. Lender information from charge register. Staff figures from last filing.
SPK Index - Regional Breakdown
Top firms by SPK Index score in each UK region for February 2026.
01. North East
- FRP Advisory78
- AMS Business Recovery58
- Grant Thornton46
- KBL Advisory38
- JT Maxwell32
02. North West
- Begbies Traynor339
- Leonard Curtis293
- Xeinadin Corporate Recovery127
- Kroll90
- FRP Advisory65
03. Yorkshire / Humber
- BDO76
- Opus73
- Rushtons Insolvency57
- FRP Advisory57
- RSM51
04. Midlands
- Begbies Traynor139
- Teneo123
- Leonard Curtis97
- KR897
- Currie Young71
05. East Midlands
- Frost Group23
- CFS Restructuring19
- Butcher Woods10
- Leading Business Services10
- BDO8
06. East of England
- SFP88
- Begbies Traynor58
- FRP Advisory53
- Leading Business Services44
- PBC Business Recovery & Insolvency33
07. South East
- Begbies Traynor312
- FRP Advisory263
- RSM197
- Quantuma127
- KR8110
08. South West
- Monahans98
- Begbies Traynor79
- Quantuma65
- Leonard Curtis52
- BK Plus43
09. London
- Begbies Traynor656
- Coots And Boots489
- Alix Partners309
- FRP Advisory290
- Moorfields Advisory181
10. Wales
- Quantuma38
- McAlister & Co17
- Stones & Co15
- Hawkins Insolvency9
- Purnells8
11. Scotland
- Interpath115
- Begbies Traynor99
- WBG Services47
- 180 Advisory Solutions45
- AAB43
12. Northern Ireland
- Begbies Traynor54
- Keenan Corporate Finance23
- AAB13
- Garma Advisory10
- Deloitte7
Access the Full Report
Want the complete data including IP-level detail, extended firm rankings, and lender charge analysis? Get in touch with the Spark team.
Contact the Spark TeamMethodology
This report analyses insolvency practitioner appointments recorded at Companies House. Appointments are classified into three categories: Admin/CVA (administrations and company voluntary arrangements), MVL (members' voluntary liquidations - solvent wind-downs), and Other (creditors' voluntary liquidations, compulsory liquidations, and other proceedings).
Where a company group is involved in insolvency proceedings within the reporting period, the group is treated as a single event. Multiple appointments relating to the same company within the same period are not counted separately.
The SPK Index is a proprietary algorithm managed by Spark that ranks firms and practitioners based on a weighted combination of appointment volume, complexity (by company size), and type of appointment.
Due to GDPR restrictions, individual IP names are not disclosed without consent.
About This Data
This report is produced by the Spark Intel Research Team using insolvency data from Companies House and the Insolvency Service. All source data is publicly available under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
For full details on how this data is collected, classified, and analysed, see the Methodology, Data Sources, Definitions, and Caveats pages.
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