Company liquidations are continuing at high volumes with most being initiated by Inland Revenue, credit bureau Centrix says.
The firm's February Credit Indicator notes 115 liquidations in January, up from 97 in January last year, a rise of 18%.
Centrix says 69% of liquidation applications are initiated by Inland Revenue following a steady rise from 32% in 2021.
"Nearly 70% of liquidation applications are initiated by Inland Revenue, up from 30% to 40% during 2020/21. Inland Revenue is reporting more tax debt defaults to Centrix, which continues to influence reported insolvency activity," Centrix's Chief Operating Officer Monika Lacey says.
"Construction remains the leading contributor with 758 firms, 0.9% of sector, liquidated over the past year. Hospitality is second, with 382, 1.2% of sector, liquidations, up 53% year-on-year."
Last month Centrix reported company liquidations had hit a 15-year high last year at almost 3000. They reached 2934 in 2025. However, Lacey says the trend is improving.
"Despite elevated totals, improving liquidation trends are now being observed across seven of 19 industry sectors, notably agriculture, wholesale trade, and information media and telecommunications services. Business credit defaults are down 17% year-on-year on a rolling 12-month basis," she says.
Customers refinancing between big 4 banks boosting mortgage lending
Elsewhere in its latest monthly credit indicator report Centrix says personal loan arrears rose to 10.2% in January, the highest level in a decade, up 6% year-on-year.
In the mortgage market, approved new mortgage lending was up 34% year-on-year in the January quarter, with new non-mortgage lending up 15.9%, lifting overall new household lending 32.5% year-on-year.
"Refinancing was a key driver, with 46% of new mortgage lending in December for refinancing. Switching is increasingly concentrated among major lenders, with 71% of switching now occurring between the Big 4 banks, up from 56% a year ago."
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