Home builders and subcontractors are putting themselves at risk as demand picks up by taking on larger projects without restoring their finances to sustain such workloads with sufficient cash balances and working capital, new figures from Equifax show.

Subcontractors and suppliers employing fewer than five people are most at risk, as they have lower cash reserves and resources to draw on than larger businesses – and the likely failure of more of these smaller companies will keep total construction insolvencies high, the ratings agency says.