Almost 3000 hospitality businesses have shut down over the past 12 months, according to new data from credit bureau Centrix, as the sector continues to carry the heaviest insolvency load of any New Zealand industry.
The figures show 422 hospitality companies, or 1.3% of the sector, entered liquidation over the year, a 42% increase on the year before. Restaurant liquidations rose 43%, takeaway food service liquidations jumped 143% and cafe liquidations climbed 27%. Alongside those formal liquidations, 2900 hospitality businesses ceased trading altogether, up almost 40%.
Across all sectors, 3092 companies were liquidated in the past year, up 14%. Construction accounted for 28% of those liquidations, property leasing and hiring 13% and hospitality 11%. Centrix said hospitality’s insolvency rate was 3.3 times the average for New Zealand businesses.
Centrix chief operating officer Monika Lacey said discretionary spending was among the first casualties when households tightened their belts. “If things get tough, you don’t necessarily go out for dinner every week, you might go once a month so it’s a hard part of the economic cycle, when people start hunkering down. The confidence isn’t there.”
The broader credit data pointed to a mixed picture for households. Mortgage arrears rose 1.22% and just under 20,000 home loans were past due, though that was 12% fewer than a year earlier. Consumer arrears overall increased to 10.74%, with 424,000 people behind on repayments, and 14,000 accounts were reported in financial hardship, up 450 on June.
New household lending fell 10.5% year on year in the July quarter, driven by weaker mortgage activity, with approved new mortgage lending down 11.6% on the same period last year after a stronger start to 2026. Non-mortgage lending rose 4.9%, supported by continued growth in secured vehicle lending.
Lacey said the official cash rate, expected to move again this week, would be worth watching. A further increase would leave households with less cash on hand just as winter power bills bite, she said, while a hold or cut could ease some of the pressure feeding through into everyday spending decisions.
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