Updated October 2026. We refresh this list every month as new reports and accounts are filed.
Main contractors make up the largest group of failures in UK construction. Our failures register holds 114 of them. Of these, 73 were administrations, 19 were creditors' voluntary liquidations, 17 were compulsory liquidations, 4 were company voluntary arrangements and 1 was a receivership.
2026 is the year so far.
| Value | |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 14 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 7 |
| 2023 | 24 |
| 2024 | 19 |
| 2025 | 12 |
| 2026 | 12 |
Failures register, from Companies House and The Gazette
The biggest
Ranked by turnover in each company's last accounts before it failed, with the largest company in each group.
| # | Company | Failed | Last turnover | Owed to creditors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carillion | January 2018 | £4.4bn | £2.0bn |
| 2 | ROK Building | November 2010 | £691.3m | £230.3m |
| 3 | Buckingham Group Contracting | September 2023 | £665.3m | £198.5m |
| 4 | ISG Retail | September 2024 | £550.7m | £100.7m |
| 5 | Readie Construction | February 2024 | £421.1m | £26.1m |
| 6 | Henry Construction Projects | June 2023 | £402.2m | £43.4m |
| 7 | Ardmore Construction Group | June 2026 | £343.8m | £10.6m |
| 8 | Geoffrey Osborne | April 2024 | £325.8m | £35.0m |
| 9 | Midas Construction | February 2022 | £260.8m | £19.3m |
| 10 | GB Building Solutions | March 2015 | £200.4m | £30.3m |
Why they failed
Of the 69 failures (each group counted once) whose insolvency reports explain why, these were the reasons given most often:
- Cash flow: 61 of 69 (88%)
- Losses on contracts: 45 of 69 (65%)
- Delays: 36 of 69 (52%)
- Clients not paying or failing: 35 of 69 (51%)
- Cost inflation: 29 of 69 (42%)
Most give several reasons. Our report on why UK construction firms fail covers all 138 reports.
When they failed
The worst year in our register was 2023, with 24. In the last three full years there were 55, against 16 in the three years before. So far in 2026 there have been 12. Our register covers larger companies, those filing full, group or medium-sized accounts, plus well-known failures; older failures that have since been dissolved are under-represented, so the earlier years are a floor rather than a full count.
What they owed
Where the insolvency reports give a figure, 91 of these companies owed a combined £4.8bn to unsecured creditors, the group that includes subcontractors and suppliers. In at least 56 cases the administrators or liquidators expected little or nothing to be paid back to them. Each failure's page shows what it owed and the expected return where the reports say.
The most recent
- Helix Construct: administration, September 2026.
- Throgmorton Mechanical & Electrical Services: creditors' voluntary liquidation, August 2026.
- Avtar Construction: administration, August 2026.
- Torsion Construction: administration, July 2026.
- Ardmore Construction Group: administration, June 2026.
- Mackoy: administration, June 2026.
- Jerram Falkus Construction: administration, February 2026.
- FK Construction: administration, February 2026.
What this tells you
Contractors carry the risk of fixed-price work and pay their supply chain before they're paid themselves, so a loss on one or two big jobs can quickly become a cash crisis.
For subcontractors, the lesson from almost every one of these is the same: by the time a company enters administration, unsecured creditors usually get little or nothing back. The protection is not letting a large debt build up, and checking a contractor's payment record, accounts and notices before you sign.
How to check a contractor
- Payment record: average days and the share paid late on the payment league table.
- Profit margin: the profit league table shows how thin each margin is.
- Notices and filings: late accounts, new lender charges and Gazette notices show in each company's CR Signals.
- Lessons from the biggest collapses: read our Carillion report and the 12 checks it sets out.
Questions
How many main contractor construction companies have gone bust since 2018?
Our register holds 106 main contractor construction failures since 2018, out of 114 in total. It covers larger companies, so the full number, including small firms, is higher.
What was the biggest main contractor construction failure?
Carillion, which had turnover of £4.4bn in its last accounts before it failed in January 2018.
Why do main contractor construction companies fail?
In the insolvency reports we've read, the most common reasons are cash flow, losses on contracts and delays. Most failures have several causes, and almost all end in a cash flow crisis.
Construction Rating lets subcontractors review the main contractors they work for. If you've worked for one, add your experience.