Research by Begbies Traynor has found that, as of June 30, 2025, 49,309 UK businesses were in ‘critical’ financial distress, representing a 21.4% increase from Q2 2024 and an 8.6% increase from Q1 2025. All sectors covered by Red Flag Alert experienced an increase over the last 12 months. Begbies Traynor also noted that some of the UK economy’s key bellwether sectors experienced a significant rise in critical distress compared to Q2 2024, including the Support Services (+31.3%) and Construction (+15.8%) sectors. In addition, ‘significant’ financial distress rose by 10.8% year-on-year to 666,876 businesses, which represents a 15.2% increase over Q1 2025 (579,276). However, there were some positives, with six of the twenty-two sectors measured experiencing a year-on-year decline in ‘significant’ distress, including Printing and Packaging (23.5%), Manufacturing (11.6%), and Industrial Transportation and Logistics (10.1%). To read Begbies Traynor’s news release, go to https://www.begbies-traynorgroup.com/news/business-health-statistics/critical-financial-distress-increases-across-the-economy.