Most companies that leave the register each month close in an ordinary, solvent way. They are struck off, not made insolvent. This page sets ordinary company closures against formal insolvencies, so the two are not confused.
Data sources
Latest at a glance
Latest monthly data
59,295
Company dissolutions
May 2026Companies House
2,085
Formal company insolvencies
England and Wales, April 2026Insolvency Service
28:1
Dissolutions for every formal insolvency
Approximate ratioCompanies House / Insolvency Service
62,523
New company incorporations
May 2026Companies House
Chart A · Formation and closure
New incorporations against company dissolutions
Latest
IncorporationsDissolutions
Source: Companies House. Monthly incorporations and dissolutions, February 2025 to May 2026. Dissolutions include ordinary, solvent strike-offs and are not a measure of insolvency.
Chart B · The scale gap
Dissolutions set against formal insolvencies, same scale
Latest
Company dissolutionsCompanies House, May 2026
59,295
Formal company insolvenciesInsolvency Service, April 2026
2,085
For every formal insolvency, about 28 companies were dissolved through ordinary, solvent closure. The two measures are counted by different bodies and must not be added together.
Sources: Companies House and the Insolvency Service. Dissolutions cover the United Kingdom register. Formal insolvencies cover England and Wales. The figures are shown on a shared scale for comparison only.
Why most company closures are not insolvencies
A dissolution simply means a company has been removed from the Companies House register. In most cases that happens because a solvent business has stopped trading, not because it has failed or owes money to creditors.
01
Voluntary strike-off
A solvent company asks Companies House to remove it from the register, usually because it has stopped trading and has no outstanding debts.
02
Dormant and non-trading companies
Many closures are companies that never traded or have been dormant for years, with no creditors and nothing to recover.
03
Members’ voluntary liquidation
A solvent company is wound up and pays its creditors in full, often for tax planning or to close a group company.
Of the 59,295 dissolutions recorded in May 2026, only a small fraction involved insolvency. The 2,085 formal insolvencies in April 2026 are counted separately by the Insolvency Service. Source: Companies House and the Insolvency Service.
Read this first
Dissolutions and strike-offs are ordinary company closures, not insolvencies.
They must not be added to insolvency totals. A dissolution removes a company from the register. An insolvency is a formal procedure for a company that cannot pay its debts. This is not the same as insolvency.
3.5%
the size of formal insolvenciesset against dissolutions on the same scale
Cite this data
Reference these figures
CompanyDebt (2026) ‘Company Dissolutions vs Insolvencies’.
Not sure whether closure or insolvency is the right route?
If a company cannot pay its debts, a strike-off is not the answer. Our licensed insolvency practitioners offer confidential, no-obligation guidance on the right option.
Dissolution and incorporation figures are drawn from Companies House register data for the United Kingdom. Formal insolvency figures are from the Insolvency Service and cover England and Wales. Dissolutions are ordinary company closures and are not a measure of insolvency. Monthly values shown in the charts are representative sample data pending the full series.
