diff --git a/src/Hydrogen/Serialization/Builder/CompositeSerializer.cs b/src/Hydrogen/Serialization/Builder/CompositeSerializer.cs
index d6c0b42c..bd1f6ce9 100644
--- a/src/Hydrogen/Serialization/Builder/CompositeSerializer.cs
+++ b/src/Hydrogen/Serialization/Builder/CompositeSerializer.cs
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ public override TItem Deserialize(EndianBinaryReader reader, SerializationContex
 
 }
 
-
 public static class CompositeSerializer {
 	public static CompositeSerializer<TItem> Create<TItem>(Func<TItem> activator, MemberSerializationBinding[] memberBindings) 
 		=> new CompositeSerializer<TItem>(activator, memberBindings);
@@ -111,11 +110,14 @@ public static IItemSerializer Create(Type itemType)
 			.GetConstructor(BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance, null, Type.EmptyTypes, null)
 			.Invoke(null);
 
-	public static void Configure(IItemSerializer serializer, Type itemType, IEnumerable<MemberSerializationBinding> memberBindings)
-		=> Configure(serializer, Tools.Lambda.CastFunc( () => itemType.ActivateWithCompatibleArgs(), itemType), memberBindings);
+	public static void Configure(IItemSerializer serializer, Type itemType, IEnumerable<MemberSerializationBinding> memberBindings) {
+		var constructor = itemType.FindCompatibleConstructor(Array.Empty<Type>());
+		Guard.Ensure(constructor is not null, $"Unable to compose a serializer for type '{itemType.ToStringCS()}' as it did not have a public parameterless constructor");
+		Configure(serializer, Tools.Lambda.CastFunc(() => constructor.Invoke(null), itemType), memberBindings);
+	}
 
 	public static void Configure(IItemSerializer serializer, Delegate activator, IEnumerable<MemberSerializationBinding> memberBindings) {
-		Guard.Ensure(serializer.GetType().IsConstructedGenericTypeOf(typeof(CompositeSerializer<>)), "Serializer must be a CompositeSerializer");
+		Guard.Ensure(serializer.GetType().IsConstructedGenericTypeOf(typeof(CompositeSerializer<>)), $"Serializer must be a {typeof(CompositeSerializer<>).ToStringCS()}");
 		serializer
 			.GetType()
 			.GetMethod(nameof(CompositeSerializer<object>.Configure), BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic)
diff --git a/tests/Hydrogen.Tests/Serialization/SerializerBuilderTests.cs b/tests/Hydrogen.Tests/Serialization/SerializerBuilderTests.cs
index 0712a394..44b51c42 100644
--- a/tests/Hydrogen.Tests/Serialization/SerializerBuilderTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Hydrogen.Tests/Serialization/SerializerBuilderTests.cs
@@ -72,6 +72,17 @@ public class GenericType<T1, T2> {
 		public T2 Prop2 { get; set; }
 	}
 
+	public class NoConstructorClass {
+		private NoConstructorClass() {
+		}
+
+		public NoConstructorClass(string prop1) {
+			Prop1 = prop1;
+		}
+		public string Prop1 { get; set; }
+
+	}
+
 	[Test]
 	public void TestObject_1() {
 		// test object
@@ -636,4 +647,8 @@ public void SerializableMembersInBaseFirstOrder() {
 		Assert.That(members[3].Name, Is.EqualTo("Prop4"));
 	}
 
+	[Test]
+	public void NoSerializerForUnconstructableClass() {
+		Assert.That (() => ItemSerializer<NoConstructorClass>.Default, Throws.InvalidOperationException);
+	}
 }