New data from Deloitte shows that company-led closures made up 70% of Q1 insolvencies, while court actions rise and hospitality failures ease ahead of VAT cut.
213 corporate insolvency appointments were recorded in Q1 2026, Deloitte’s latest insolvency figures show.
This is a 3% rise compared to Q1 2025 (206) and is consistent with Q1 2024 (214).
“Company voluntary liquidations are returning to normal levels while receiverships have dropped… Revenue is driving half of the court liquidations”
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations (CVLs) accounted for 70% of the insolvencies in Q1 2026 with a total of 149 CVLs, which is up 16% compared with Q1 2025 (129).
This represents a return to natural levels of company led closures, which have accounted for an average of 70% of all insolvencies in the five-year period from 2021 to 2025.
The average age of the companies that entered a CVL was 14 years in Q1 2026. In 2025, the average age was 13 years, showing a level consistency. Only 19 companies that entered a CVL in Q1 2026 were below five years in business.
Court ordered liquidations
According to the data there were 30 court liquidations in Q1 2026 (14%), compared with 25 in Q1 2025. Revenue was the petitioner for 50% of the court liquidations (15/213), the same as Q1 2025.
12% or 25 insolvencies were receiverships, a 40% decrease compared to Q1 2025 (42).
This activity is back in line with Q1 2024 levels, when there were 29 corporate receiverships. Similar to Q1 2025, alternative and international lenders are continuing to drive this activity. There were no pillar bank appointments.
“The insolvencies landscape continues to evolve,” says James Anderson, Turnaround & Restructuring partner, Deloitte Ireland.
“Deloitte’s latest Q1 2026 insolvency data shows that company voluntary liquidations are returning to normal levels while receiverships have dropped, this too represents a return to normal levels.
“Receiverships continue to be driven by alternative and international lenders, with no pillar banks being accounted for this quarter. Revenue is driving half of the court liquidations.
SCARP process
There were four Examinership appointments and five Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP) appointments in Q1 2026.
“From our sectoral analysis, there are early indications which suggest retail sector insolvencies are up while hospitality has experienced a decrease”
Combined this represents 4% of the total insolvency appointments. This continues a trend of low level take up of rescue options that has remained consistent at about 4%, despite the introduction of the SCARP process in 2022.
Nearly half (88/41%) of insolvencies were from the wide-ranging services sector and continue to account year-on-year for the largest proportion of insolvencies. Within the services sector, financial services (29), holding companies (17), and real estate (16) accounted for the highest number of insolvencies.
Early indications suggest retail sector insolvencies are up, totalling 30 or 14% of insolvencies.
Ahead of the July 2026 scheduled VAT rate cut, hospitality insolvencies decreased by 27%, with 24 hospitality businesses going insolvent. This compares to 33 in Q1 2025 and 46 in Q1 2024.
The hospitality sector is expected to continue to experience a high proportion of insolvencies for the remainder of 2026. As Deloitte has previously stated, the VAT rate cut is unlikely to change this, as the challenges this sector face will continue, such as legacy debt issues, difficulty attracting and retaining staff, and high costs, in particular for energy.
The remainder of insolvencies were spread amongst construction (20/9%), IT (18/8%), manufacturing & agriculture (13/6%), other (9/4%), transport (7/3%), and wholesale (4/2%).
Leinster continues to account for the highest number of insolvencies (172/81%). However, Munster, Connacht and Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland all experienced a decrease in insolvencies – down by 6%, 31% and 40% respectively.
When looking at corporate insolvency figures from the last six months (Q4 2025 to Q1 2026), there were a total of 407 insolvencies. Assuming this level of insolvency activity is to continue for the remainder of the year, there is likely to be 840 corporate insolvencies, which would be higher than 812 in 2025 and less than the 875 in 2024.
“The announcement of EU Inc. also represents a potential harmonisation of cross-border restructuring and insolvency that has been ongoing for a number of years,” Anderson said. “We will continue to monitor developments with interest.
“From our sectoral analysis, there are early indications which suggest retail sector insolvencies are up while hospitality has experienced a decrease.
“However, I expect the hospitality sector will continue to experience a high proportion of insolvencies throughout 2026. Businesses in this sector are struggling with legacy debt issues, difficulty attracting and retaining staff, and high costs, in particular for energy. A VAT rate cut is unlikely to reduce insolvencies in this sector,” Anderson added.
Top image: Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash
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