share of buy-to-let companies showing distress signals: those that bought after April 2020 versus those that bought before April 2016 (England and Wales, SIC 68209).
The finding
Every active property-owning company in the buy-to-let letting sector was grouped by the period it acquired property, and the share showing a distress signal was measured in each group. The contrast is sharp.
| Acquisition period | Companies | Showing distress | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| After April 2020 | 75,751 | 54,630 | 72.1% |
| Before April 2016 | 44,283 | 25,414 | 57.4% |
The companies that bought at and after the post-2020 peak are 14.7 percentage points more likely to show distress than the long-established owners who bought before the 2016 stamp-duty surcharge.
How it was measured
The population is active property-owning companies in England and Wales under SIC code 68209, the core buy-to-let letting code. A distress signal means at least one of: an outstanding secured charge, an overdue Companies House filing, or a recent Gazette insolvency notice. Figures are aggregated counts with no company-level detail, the data covers companies that own property rather than the whole register, and groups are defined by property acquisition date, not company incorporation date. The figures are drawn from GalimAI, which joins Companies House, HM Land Registry and Gazette records.
Why the gap, and what it does not say
The data shows the gap clearly. It does not, on its own, prove why. The most plausible drivers all point the same way: post-2020 buyers paid peak prices, then met the sharp rise in borrowing costs from 2022 onward, and have had less time to pay down debt or build reserves than owners who bought a decade earlier. Older owners are not immune, more than half show a signal, but the newer cohort carries the strain more heavily. This is a strong correlation with a clear mechanism, not proof that any single factor is the cause.
The practical point is that distress is not spread evenly across the sector. It is concentrated in the most recent buyers.
FAQ
Which buy-to-let owners are most distressed?
Companies that bought property after April 2020: 72.1% show distress signals, versus 57.4% of those that bought before April 2016, a 14.7 percentage-point gap (England and Wales, SIC 68209).
What counts as a distress signal?
An outstanding secured charge, an overdue Companies House filing, or a recent Gazette insolvency notice. Figures are aggregated and cover property-owning companies, measured by property acquisition date.
Why are post-2020 buyers more distressed?
The data shows the gap but does not prove a single cause. Likely drivers include peak purchase prices, higher borrowing costs since 2022, and less time to stabilise. A strong correlation, not proof.
Data source: GalimAI proprietary analysis of Companies House, HM Land Registry and Gazette records. Coverage: England and Wales. Figures are aggregated and current for 2026.