Insolvency wave overrun Austria: 2,173 bankruptcies in the first half of the year!

Insolvency wave overrun Austria: 2,173 bankruptcies in the first half of the year!

Österreich - The economy in Austria is in a difficult location, characterized by an increase in corporate insolvencies. In the first half of 2025, the country already reported 2,173 company insolvencies, which corresponds to an increase of 3.53 percent compared to the previous year. This number indicates that 2025 the third year of records in a row could be achieved, as the Alpine Banker Association (AKV) predicts. Around 4,500 bankruptcies are expected for the year as a whole, which further increases concern about economic stability. According to [Exxpress.at] (https://exxpress.at/news/firmen-kollaps-nimm-kein-end-schon-2-173-insolvenzen-im-ersten- half year/), the overall passiva amounted to 7.82 billion euros in the first half of 2025. This represents a drastic decline compared to the 14.08 billion euros in the same period of 2024, which reflects a decrease of 44.4 percent.

The bankruptcy plans of some large companies, in particular the Signa Group of René Benko, were not confirmed in court and led to an unprecedented increase in bankruptcies in the real estate industry. Of the ten largest company insolvencies to liabilities, nine is not available on the Signa empire. In the first half of 2025, a total of 94 signa companies went bankrupt. This situation has led to the closure of around 50 branches of the Palmers Textil Aktiengesellschaft, which registered bankruptcy in February and affected 515 employees.

industries in focus

The industry trade, construction and gastronomy, in which most of the bankruptcies were recorded, were hit particularly strongly. In detail, there were 523 bankruptcies in retail, followed by construction with 472 and the gastronomy with 362 bankruptcies. The pressure on companies increases in the face of high energy and wage costs as well as geopolitical uncertainties. The general economic situation is also critical, since Austria's economy decreased by 0.4 percent compared to the previous quarter in the first quarter of 2025, which represents the third decline in a row. According to [Forbes.swiss] (https://forbes.swiss/artikel/wirtschaftskriseein-in-oesterreich-zuhnendende-insolvenzen-trotz-gruender boom), the economic outlook remains uncertain.

Another alarm sign is the increasing dismissal of insolvency applications due to "lack of mass", which means that many creditors are expected to go away empty. Despite the start -up boom, which reached a new record with 36,673 new start -ups in 2024, there is a risk that many of these new companies will fail over the first five years, which could further increase the number of bankruptcies. In the first quarter of 2025, companies registered bankruptcy in 2004, which corresponds to an increase of 8 percent compared to the previous year

private bankruptcies and debt

Overall, the current economic situation in Austria shows trends that strongly burden both companies and private individuals. The economic uncertainty factors continue to represent significant challenges and raise the question of how long the downward spiral will last.