The number of UK companies facing “critical” financial distress has leaped by more than 20% to nearly 50,000 over the past year as rising taxes and slow growth have hammered profitability.
In the second quarter of the year 49,309 businesses were classified in the “critical “ category, up from 40,613 in the same quarter last year and 9% on the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest “Red Flag Alert” report from insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor.
