UK hospitality insolvencies fall 24% in August

UK hospitality insolvencies fell to 233 in August, down 24% from 306 in July and 12% below the 266 logged a year earlier, according to Insolvency Service figures for England and Wales.

The accommodation and food services category still ran up 3,201 insolvencies in the 12 months to August, the third-largest total of any industry behind construction and the combined wholesale, retail and vehicle repair sector. August's drop takes the monthly count to its lowest of the year without changing that annual picture.

Across the whole economy the month was flat. England and Wales registered 1,946 company insolvencies in August, against 1,934 in July and 2,007 in August 2025, a 3% fall year on year. The split was 1,431 creditors' voluntary liquidations, 314 compulsory liquidations, 182 administrations and 19 company voluntary arrangements.

A warm August bought the trade time; the costs landing in April did not move.

Why UK hospitality insolvencies eased

Administrations were the outlier: 44% above July and 60% above August 2025, a jump the Insolvency Service links to more than 250 connected real estate companies entering the process together rather than to operators failing.

Trading explains most of the hospitality improvement. A hot August filled pub gardens and terraces at the end of a summer that had already lifted turnover. “While there are positive signs of growth in the sector, recovery remains fragile, so caution is needed,” said Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK.

His colleague Gordon Thomson, a restructuring partner at the firm, pointed at balance sheets rather than tills: “Historical debt may undermine an otherwise viable position, so restructuring assistance should be sought.” BrewDog's administration left creditors unpaid on much the same arithmetic.

The costs still coming in April

The 2026 business rates revaluation lands next. UKHospitality puts the average rise in rateable value at 30% for pubs and 14% for restaurants, with hotels facing bills up by around 110% — increases that survive the reduced multiplier announced in July.

Wages move at the same time. The national living wage rises to £12.71 in April 2026, on top of the £3.4bn the trade body says the sector absorbed from the April 2025 national insurance changes. Chief executive Allen Simpson is pressing for a 20p multiplier discount across all hospitality property, not just pubs.

Deal-making has not stopped either: Heineken is in talks over a £300m slice of Stonegate. One warm month is a reprieve, not a recovery; the 12-month total is the number that moves next.