These figures reflect a trading backdrop most finance leaders will recognise: persistent inflationary pressure, higher wage bills, increased taxation, elevated borrowing costs and fragile consumer confidence. For many firms, margins have been squeezed to the point where any further shock could be terminal.

What makes the data particularly uncomfortable is its breadth. Every sector monitored reported a deterioration.

Consumer-facing sectors feel the strain

Industries dependent on discretionary spending were among the worst affected after a weaker-than-hoped Christmas trading period.

Leisure & Cultural Activities, Hotels & Accommodation, and Bars & Restaurants all saw dramatic increases in businesses entering the most serious category of distress. But the pressure is far from isolated to hospitality and retail; property, utilities and many B2B supply chains are also seeing rising vulnerability.

Alongside this, hundreds of thousands more firms sit in the bracket below – showing signs of strain, deteriorating liquidity or growing creditor pressure. In practice, that often translates into stretched payment behaviour for suppliers.

The ‘zombie’ company problem

A growing concern for 2026 is the volume of businesses surviving day-to-day but lacking the resilience to withstand tighter enforcement, reduced demand or withdrawal of support.

As HMRC resumes firmer recovery of historic liabilities, some organisations may quickly move from slow payer to insolvency risk. For creditors, that window to act can close faster than expected.

What this means for credit and finance teams

If distress continues to rise, traditional reactive collections will not be enough. Waiting until an account is seriously overdue could mean you are already behind other creditors.

The advantage will sit with businesses that:

• spot early warning signs
• adapt credit terms quickly
• prioritise higher-risk accounts
• make informed decisions about exposure

In short, better data will separate the protected from the exposed.

Turning insight into protection with identeco

Understanding your customer’s financial stability before problems surface is becoming essential risk management.

identeco provides access to powerful B2B finance and company intelligence that helps commercial and credit teams evaluate who they are trading with and how risk is changing over time. Rather than relying purely on historic relationships or gut feel, businesses can layer real-time insight into their decision making.

With the right data, you can:

✔ assess the likelihood of payment difficulty
✔ monitor deterioration in financial health
✔ identify directors and corporate structures
✔ segment accounts by risk profile
✔ support decisions on credit limits and terms
✔ prioritise collections activity

This kind of visibility allows you to protect revenue before an invoice becomes a problem.

Smarter decisions in a volatile market

In an environment where tens of thousands of companies may fail, informed judgement becomes a competitive advantage. Businesses with strong data can choose when to tighten exposure, when to support a customer, and when to pursue growth opportunities others may be too cautious to take.

While economic conditions may be outside any organisation’s control, the quality of information guiding decisions is not.

Take control of your customer risk today

Whether you need continuous monitoring across your ledger or insight into a single organisation, identeco makes high-quality business intelligence accessible and affordable.

Subscriptions start from just £79.95, giving your team ongoing access to the data needed to trade confidently, set appropriate limits and act early when risk increases.

If you are reviewing one particular customer or prospect, you can also choose a one-off credit report, providing a fast, detailed snapshot of financial strength, filing history and potential warning signs.