Business

Game over for 250 companies in South Africa

Staff Writer

 ·28 Oct 2026

Another 250 companies have been liquidated in South Africa, taking the total for the year to 2,089 so far.

The latest data from Stats SA on liquidations in the country recorded 250 cases for September 2026, down 12.3% from 285 cases at the same time last year.

Liquidations of companies decreased by 27 cases, and liquidations of close corporations decreased by 8 cases during this period.

However, the figure reflected a month-on-month rise in liquidations from August 2026, where 228 liquidations were recorded.

The number of liquidations decreased by 17% (from 864 to 717) in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the third quarter of 2025 (July to September).

The year is also on track to see fewer liquidations than in 2025.

The year-to-date (January to September) numbers for 2026 are 6.6% lower than the same period in 2025 (from 2,237 to 2,089).

The liquidations data track a similar trend to the number of insolvencies, which are also lower than in previous years.

Stats SA recorded 123 insolvencies in September 2026, taking the total number of insolvent businesses year-to-date to 1,136.

The figure is 15.7% lower than the 1,347 insolvencies recorded in the first nine months of 2025.

Insolvency refers to an individual or partnership business that is unable to pay its debts and is placed under final sequestration.

While related to liquidations—in that insolvency could be a cause or reason for liquidating a business—they are not congruent.

Liquidation refers to the winding-up of the affairs of a company or close corporation when liabilities exceed assets. This can be done on a voluntary basis or by court order.

Voluntary liquidations, especially, could be part of standard business activity.

Because of this distinction, insolvencies are more reflective of struggling businesses and are more closely aligned with the broader business environment.

The numbers to look at

When looking at liquidation data, the more telling figure is the number of compulsory liquidations, which often reflect forced, court-ordered closures.

Looking at September’s data, compulsory liquidations make up a minority of closures, but there were 38 cases for the month.

The 38 cases are higher than the 31 recorded in August 2026 and the 25 recorded in September 2025, pointing to a more strained environment for companies.

Year-to-date, the 232 compulsory liquidations are also higher than the 228 cases recorded over the same period in 2025, underlining this view.

As is the continued trend when looking at liquidations, the financing, insurance, real estate, and business services sector remains the hardest hit, among closures that have been classified.

This is followed by the trade, catering and accommodation sector. However, a significant number of businesses being liquidated—1,404—are unclassified.

Unclassified items are put in this catchment category, representing all legal entities whose sector flags are unassigned for various reasons.

These can range from incomplete filing data, legacy company types, SPVs, shell companies, etc.

The category has swelled since the revision of the country’s liquidation data, with Stats SA now ensuring that national totals remain accurate even when more granular industry data is unavailable.

The table below outlines the latest liquidation and insolvency data to September 2026.