Irish business insolvencies rise 20% in Q2 2025 despite steady half-year performance.
Irish business insolvencies rose nearly 20% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter, yet overall levels for the first half of the year remain steady with 2024 figures, according to PwC’s latest Insolvency Barometer.
The report reveals that 229 insolvencies were recorded in Q2 2025, up from 192 in Q1 2025.
“Businesses and consumers continue to deal with a higher cost base driven by domestic and international factors”
However, total insolvencies for the first six months of 2025 (421) exactly match the same period in 2024, suggesting continued resilience in the Irish economy amid domestic and international challenges.
“We see a steadying in insolvency levels when you look at the six months ended June 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year, despite an uptick for quarter 2 of 2025,” said Ken Tyrrell, Business Recovery Partner at PwC Ireland.
“This steadying of insolvencies over the six month timeline shows that the Irish economy and Irish businesses continue to demonstrate resilience amid domestic challenges and international geopolitical uncertainties.”
Revenue enforcement drives court liquidations
A significant trend emerged in court-appointed liquidations, which rose nearly 40% in Q2 2025 to 34 cases, compared to 25 in Q1. This brought total court liquidations for the first half of 2025 to 59 – more than three times the 19 recorded in the same period of 2024.
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners petitioned 38 of these 59 cases, compared to just 5 Revenue petitions in the first half of 2024. This surge suggests elevated enforcement actions are linked to debt recovery following the conclusion of Revenue’s debt warehousing scheme.
Notably, Revenue has petitioned to liquidate 38 companies in the first six months of 2025 – nearly three times the number of companies (14) seeking to use the SCARP rescue process.
Retail sector sees sharp quarterly rise
Retail insolvencies more than doubled in Q2 2025 to 53 cases, up from 25 in Q1. However, the total retail insolvencies for the first half of 2025 (78) remained slightly lower than the same period in 2024 (84), despite the apparent quarterly spike.
The hospitality industry recorded 35 insolvencies in Q2 2025, a 19% decrease from the 43 recorded in Q1. This level aligns closely with the average of 39 insolvencies per quarter observed across 2024 and early 2025, indicating consistent challenges within the sector.
Receivership appointments fell significantly in Q2 2025 to 19 cases, representing an almost 50% decrease from the 36 recorded in Q1. Despite this quarterly decline, total receiverships for the first half of 2025 (55) increased 17% over the same period in 2024 (47).
The current annual insolvency rate stands at 29 per 10,000 businesses – more than double the 2021 rate of 14 per 10,000, yet still below the 20-year average of 50 per 10,000 businesses and far below the 2012 peak of 109 per 10,000.
Geographic concentration remains high, with Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Meath accounting for 75% of all insolvencies in the quarter. Dublin alone represents half of all insolvencies nationally.
Tyrrell warned of ongoing challenges ahead: “However, you cannot ignore the ongoing global geopolitical risks and prevailing economic uncertainties and it remains to be seen what the remainder of the year has in store. Businesses and consumers also continue to deal with a higher cost base driven by domestic and international factors.”
He advised businesses to “continue to reinvent their businesses using AI and emerging technologies” and “focus on their core strategies, cost base and actively manage their working capital and cash positions to ensure that they are financially sustainable into the future.”
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