Business insolvencies are continuing to rise in New Zealand, with new figures revealing growing financial pressure across construction, hospitality, property and food-related industries, raising the stakes for procurement teams reliant on small suppliers in exposed sectors.
In the quarter ending 30 June 2026, the New Zealand Companies Office recorded 710 liquidator appointments, representing an increase of 4.9 percent from the same quarter in 2025 and 12.9 percent from the same quarter in 2024.
In June alone, 259 companies were placed into liquidation, while 19 receiverships and three voluntary administrations were recorded.
Separate analysis from Deloitte recorded 748 formal insolvency appointments during the June quarter, with liquidations accounting for 94.9 percent of the total.
It found 3,449 formal insolvencies had been recorded over the previous 12 months, with company failures remaining above historical levels amid continued cash flow constraints, tax debts and increased enforcement activity.
Construction accounted for the largest share of insolvencies during the quarter at 22.2 percent, followed by accommodation and food services at 13.2 percent.
Insolvency activity was also heavily concentrated in certain areas, with Auckland accounting for 60.3 percent of cases. Collectively, Auckland, Waikato, Canterbury and Wellington represented 82.9 percent of insolvencies across New Zealand.
These figures correspond with findings from Experian’s latest New Zealand Consumer Credit and Business Stress Report, which found that an overall improvement in invoice payment performance may be masking pressures affecting particular industries and regions.
Across the economy, the average number of days invoices were overdue fell by almost 10 percent over the previous two years, declining from more than 5.5 days to fewer than five days.
Much of that improvement occurred after overdue payment times peaked at around six days in mid-2025.
However, Experian identified a renewed deterioration during the first four months of 2026 across several sectors already experiencing high rates of insolvencies.
When current overdue payments, recent payment behaviour and insolvency trends were considered together, accommodation and food services, rental and real estate services, retail and construction emerged as the highest-risk industries.
Residential construction businesses recorded a 16 percent deterioration in trade payment performance between January and April, while payment times worsened by five to eight percent across real estate agencies and property management businesses.
Pressure was also evident across food manufacturing, with trade payment performance deteriorating by 18 percent in meat product manufacturing, eight percent in fruit and vegetable processing and 12 percent in confectionery manufacturing.
Businesses in Auckland and Wellington generally recorded weaker payment performance than those in other parts of the country.
In April, hospitality businesses were paying invoices around 10 days late in Auckland and eight days late in Wellington, compared with between five and six days in Canterbury and Otago.
Experian also identified signs that the strain was spreading to businesses supplying the affected industries.
Trading activity among cement, plaster and concrete manufacturers contracted by 10 percent in the year to April, while activity among businesses providing building completion services declined by around four percent.
Food sector suppliers also recorded contracting or below-inflation growth, with Experian suggesting higher input costs and low consumer demand were affecting businesses throughout the wider supply chain.
Corporate insolvency appointments also remain elevated in Australia, with the latest data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) showing 14,153 companies entered external administration or had a controller appointed for the first time during the 2025-26 financial year.
While this was 3.9 percent below the record 14,722 companies recorded in the previous financial year, the annual total of insolvencies remains above the long-term average.
Construction was again the hardest hit industry, with 3,472 companies entering external administration or having a controller appointed, followed by accommodation and food services with 2,078.
