A company rarely goes bust without warning. The signs show up in two places: on the public record, where anyone can check them, and in how the company pays you, which only its suppliers see. Neither proves a company will fail, but together they tell a credit controller when to stop extending credit.
Warning signs on the public record
- Accounts overdue. A company that has not filed its accounts on time often has something it does not want to show. Its Companies House page says when the accounts were due.
- Confirmation statement overdue. The yearly statement of who runs and owns the company, also shown as overdue on Companies House.
- A proposal to strike it off. Companies House has started removing the company from the register, usually because filings are missing. See first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off.
- Directors resigning. Directors leaving in a short period, shown in the officers list on Companies House.
- An owner stepping down. A person with significant control ceasing, shown on the same register.
- Net liabilities. The latest accounts show the company owes more than it owns. About one company in five files accounts like that, so on its own it means little; next to another sign, it matters.
- A winding-up petition. A creditor has asked the court to wind the company up, advertised in The Gazette. This is the strongest public sign before a formal insolvency. Check a company for a petition.
When we checked 130 companies shortly before they became insolvent (October 2026), 15 showed two or more of these signs at Companies House at once; of 130 companies that stayed out of insolvency, 0 did. One sign on its own proves little; two together are a much stronger warning.
Warning signs only a supplier sees
- Payments that used to arrive on time start arriving late, then later.
- Part payments, or payment of the oldest invoice only.
- New excuses: a changed payment run, a lost invoice, a director who has to approve every payment.
- Larger orders than usual on credit, or a request for longer terms.
- Cheques or direct debits that bounce, or a new bank account.
When the signs you see in your ledger line up with signs on the public record, that is the moment to ask for payment up front, shorten terms or stop supplying.
How to watch for them without checking by hand
Checking every customer at Companies House and in The Gazette each week does not scale past a handful of accounts, and the free Companies House alerts only tell you about filings that arrive, not ones that are missing (what Companies House alerts miss). A winding-up petition, often the earliest warning, is advertised in The Gazette but rarely reaches Companies House: of 50 petitioned companies we checked, 5 had any filing there.
InsolvencyRadar watches both. For every UK company on your watchlist, it re-reads Companies House at least weekly and sends a warning when accounts or a confirmation statement go overdue, a strike-off is proposed, a director resigns, an owner steps down or the status changes, and it alerts you the day a petition, administration or liquidation notice appears in The Gazette. See insolvency alerts, or check a company for free first.
General information about the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules for some of these steps.