Data · By sector

Which UK sectors have the most companies in administration

Updated daily

Manufacturing leads. Of the 7,105 administrations administrator.uk tracks, 1,110 (15.6%) are in manufacturing. The full ranking is below, each classified by its primary registered SIC code.

7,105
Administrations tracked
10
Sectors represented
54%
Classified by sector

The sector league table

  1. 1ManufacturingManufacturing of goods1,11015.6%
  2. 2ConstructionBuilding, civils, specialised trades and fit-out83611.8%
  3. 3RetailWholesale, retail and motor-trade81711.5%
  4. 4Hospitality & foodAccommodation, pubs, restaurants and food service3935.5%
  5. 5Transport & logisticsRoad, rail, sea, air and warehousing2803.9%
  6. 6IT & managed servicesSoftware, IT consultancy, managed services and data hosting2032.9%
  7. 7Recruitment & staffingEmployment agencies and labour supply1341.9%
  8. 8Care homes & social careResidential care and social work450.6%
  9. 9Plant & equipment hireConstruction, agricultural and general equipment hire and leasing220.3%
  10. 10Cleaning servicesCommercial, industrial and specialised cleaning contractors130.2%
  11. 11Other sectorsPrimary SIC code outside the sectors tracked above3,25245.8%
How we counted

The method, and what the numbers don't say

Every UK company is registered under one or more SIC codes describing what it does. We take the first code on each company's record and map it to a broad sector. A company whose primary code does not fall into one of the sectors we track is grouped under Other sectors.

These are the administrations administrator.uk has recorded, not a complete history of every UK administration. A count here includes cases that have since closed, or moved on to dissolution or a Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. So read the figures as which sectors generate the most administrations we track, not a live tally of companies sitting in the process today.

A single SIC code is a blunt instrument. A company can trade well outside the activity it registered, and holding companies often sit under a generic code. We publish the breakdown because the broad shape is useful, not because a SIC code is the last word on what a business did.

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Questions about this breakdown

Which UK sector has the most companies in administration?
Manufacturing, with 1,110 administrations on record in the administrator.uk dataset, or 15.6% of the 7,105 we track. Each company is classified by its primary registered SIC code.
How is each company assigned to a sector?
By the first SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code a company is registered under, mapped to a broad sector. A company with no recognised SIC code is grouped under Other sectors. About 54% of tracked administrations fall into one of the named sectors.
Is this every UK company that has ever been in administration?
No. These are the administrations administrator.uk has recorded, including cases that have since closed or moved on to liquidation or dissolution. It is not a complete history of every UK administration.
How often does the sector breakdown change?
It is recomputed on every page load from the live database, so it reflects appointments recorded up to the day you read it.
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