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In January 2026, the accommodation and food services sector experienced a notable month-on-month increase in company insolvencies, rising by 9% from 205 cases in December 2025 to 223 in January.
This uptick, while concerning in the short term, is set against a more favourable year-on-year backdrop. Compared with January 2025, when there were 273 insolvencies, the sector has seen a significant 18% decline.
This suggests that, despite the immediate challenges and ongoing economic pressures affecting the industry—such as rising costs, changing consumer behaviour, and potential disruptions—there is a degree of resilience in the accommodation and food services sector, which may indicate a potential for recovery and stability moving forward.
Saxon Moseley, partner and head of leisure and hospitality at leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK, said: “Most hospitality operators held on at the end of last year to capitalise on Christmas trading, before having to assess their options in January.
“The persistent wet weather and fragile consumer confidence has meant it’s been a tough start to the year for the industry, with the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker showing flat like-for-like sales, tipping some into insolvency.
“The hospitality sector consistently features in the top three industries experiencing the highest number of insolvencies, highlighting it’s one of the hardest hit by relentless cost increases such as higher taxes, National Minimum Wage and inflation.
“While it’s encouraging to see a drop in hospitality insolvencies year-on-year, this may be in part due to the sector shrinking overall, as the challenging trading environment makes it difficult to not only enter the market, but to compete.
“With more headwinds to come, operators must act now to preserve cash, explore cost-cutting options, and most importantly, protect the customer experience to keep people coming through the door.”
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