German company bankruptcies at 10-year high

The number of German companies going bankrupt is continuing to rise, credit agency Creditreform warned on Thursday.

The agency says some 11,900 companies will have filed for insolvency by the end of the first half of the year. That would be 9.4% more than in the January-June period of 2024.

Although the increase has slowed significantly – the figure for the first half of 2024 was 28.5% higher than in the same period of 2023 – the number of corporate insolvencies has nevertheless reached its highest level since 2015. At that time, Creditreform counted 11,530 company bankruptcies between January and the end of June.

“Companies are struggling with weak demand, rising costs and ongoing uncertainty,” said Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of Creditreform Economic Research. “Financial reserves are dwindling and more businesses are finding themselves in serious difficulties.”

The credit agency recorded a significant increase in company bankruptcies in the first half of the year in the manufacturing sector (up 17.5% to 940 cases) and in the retail sector (up 13.8% to 2,220 cases). The industry is struggling with rising raw material and energy costs, while the retail sector is feeling the effects of consumer restraint in the face of international crises and online competition.

The largest share of insolvencies, at just under 7,000 cases, was in the service sector, which includes the catering industry.

The damage caused by company bankruptcies in the first half of 2025 amounted to an estimated €33.4 billion (around $39 billion), up from €29.7 billion a year earlier. The number of jobs at risk has also risen as a result of large-scale insolvencies with 141,000 employees affected, compared with 133,000 in the first half of 2024.

Source: dpa

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