A total of 13,360 UK limited companies now sit in RecoupIQ’s high capital-bleed cohort, based on filings published up to 15 June. Across that group, the average risk score is 0.90. The signal uses Companies House records to compare director-loan growth with trade-debt growth and identify cases for closer creditor review.
That matters for trade creditors and insolvency practitioners because payment strain still sits high on the agenda for smaller suppliers. The Insolvency Service Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 provides policy context, not validation of this dataset, but it shows why cash conduct remains a live issue. RecoupIQ’s measure is an independent analytical signal rather than any official designation, and director-loan movements in filed accounts can also arise for legitimate operational reasons.
What the source says
“Our role is to deliver economic confidence by tackling financial wrongdoing and supporting those in financial distress.”, Insolvency Service, UK Insolvency Service (corporate statement, Annual Report 2024-25), in the Insolvency Service Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 (2025-07-15).
What our data shows
RecoupIQ’s capital-bleed signal points to a sizeable review list rather than a conclusion about misconduct, intent or insolvency. The underlying method compares director-loan growth against trade-debt growth across filed UK company accounts, using public records from Companies House. In this reading, 13,360 companies fall into the high-risk band, with an average score of 0.90.
How we read it
This pattern can matter when suppliers are deciding whether to tighten terms, ask for updated accounts or seek earlier engagement on overdue balances. It does not prove that any company has treated creditors unfairly. It shows an accounting pattern in filed data that may justify further review, especially where payment behaviour has already changed.
No sector split or top-pivot has been provided in the findings, so the strongest point is the aggregate number itself. For creditors, that still offers a concrete screened cohort drawn from filed accounts rather than anecdote.
“This score highlights a filed-data pattern that creditors should review early, while remembering it may also reflect ordinary financing movements.”, Alex Vasile, founder of RecoupIQ.
What this means for UK creditors
For UK SMEs supplying these businesses, the practical step is to review exposure, refresh payment terms and check the latest filed accounts before extending further credit. Continued monitoring of this signal in the coming weeks will show whether the elevated-risk cohort stays broad or begins to narrow.
How to verify the signal
Readers can inspect the framework in the RecoupIQ Methodology, how we compute UK Ltd risk signals and the calibration record in RecoupIQ Audit-Our-Numbers, model calibration + findings ledger. Those documents set out how the capital-bleed signal is derived from UK filing data and how the numbers are checked.
Methodology + model calibration: recoup-iq.tech/methodology · recoup-iq.tech/audit-our-numbers.
Run a free risk check on any UK Ltd: recoup-iq.tech/check-a-debtor
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