The World Cup delivered some respite to the UK hospitality sector as fans piled into pubs throughout June and July. It certainly helped insolvency rates slow, albeit from a pretty high level. But the footie’s over and the soundings are that it could be game over for many hospitality businesses too as the costs cycle starts to churn again.

Company insolvencies in England and Wales fell slightly in June, but the latest figures suggest hospitality businesses remain among the sectors facing the greatest financial pressure.

According to the latest data, 1,845 companies entered insolvency during June 2026, broadly unchanged from May’s total of 1,849 and ten percent lower than the 2,048 recorded in June last year. Despite the overall improvement, accommodation and food service businesses, alongside wholesale and retail, accounted for almost a third of all company insolvencies over the 12 months to the end of June.

Giuseppe Parla, Restructuring & Insolvency Director at Menzies LLP, said businesses were continuing to battle rising costs and uncertainty surrounding tax policy.

“While hospitality has benefited from increased consumer spending in pubs, driven by England’s World Cup campaign and longer opening hours, this relief is only temporary, and long-term issues facing the sector must be addressed by the incoming government,” he said.

Parla warned that “the longer these industries wait for announcements on relief measures, the longer they continue to accrue increased costs without clear foresight on how their bottom lines will be affected,” adding that business rates reform could provide much-needed relief and help prevent operators from increasing prices or cutting jobs.