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Business failures down by 14% in first quarter

Figures compiled by professional-services firm PwC show that the number of business failures fell in the first three months of this year. 

Its Insolvency Barometer shows that there were 192 business insolvencies in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 – down 14% compared with the same period last year. 

The figure was also down 7% compared with the final three months of last year.

‘Resilience’ 

PwC said that the decline demonstrated “the robustness and resilience” of the Irish economy. 

The firm noted a sharp annual drop of 40% in the number of failures in the retail sector – only 25 were recorded in the first quarter of this year. 

The 43 failures in the hospitality sector, however, were broadly in line with the figures for each quarter last year, with small restaurants and cafés accounting for most of the insolvencies. 

PwC’s figures show that there were 25 court-appointed liquidations in the first quarter of 2025, compared with only seven a year earlier. The firm says that this continues an upward trend in court appointments that started in early 2024. 

Debt-warehousing scheme 

“Revenue is listed as the petitioner for 16 of the appointments in Q1 2025, suggesting that a number of phased payment arrangements (PPAs) agreed at the cessation of the debt-warehousing scheme have potentially failed, making enforcement action necessary to recover these debts,” the firm says. 

There were 122 CVLs (creditors’ voluntary liquidations) recorded in Q1 of 2025 – a 33% decrease compared with the same quarter in 2024, and the lowest number recorded since Q1 of 2023. 

CVLs remain the most common form of insolvency, accounting for more than 60% of insolvencies in the quarter. 

The number of SCARPs in the first quarter was eight – up from five a year earlier. 

“Despite the consistent figures, the overall use of rescue processes remains under-utilised,” said PwC partner Ken Tyrrell. 

The annual insolvency rate in the first quarter was 29 per 10,000 businesses. While this is more than double the rate of 14 per 10,000 recorded in 2021, it remains below the 20-year average of 50 per 10,000 businesses, according to PwC.