Our latest deep dives into businesses and their owners.

New Zealand is seeing another surge in business failures this month. In just the first six days of October, multiple liquidation notices have already been published in the Gazette, adding to a 26% year-on-year rise in formal company collapses. While 205 companies went into liquidation in August, more than 11,000 firms were struck off the Companies Register in the same month — many of these removals were administrative, but a significant share mask quiet closures that never make headlines. The Companies Office recorded 597 liquidator appointments in the first quarter of 2025, up 18.9% on the year before, and Inland Revenue now accounts for roughly 70% of all winding-up applications. Personal bankruptcies are also rising, though monthly figures lag behind. With 2024 already a record year at around 2,500 liquidations, 2025 is on track to surpass it — showing that the true scale of business distress in New Zealand is far greater than the official insolvency notices suggest.