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The strongest business closure in almost 20 years, what is happening in Germany?

2026-08-21 22:45:52Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The strongest business closure in almost 20 years, what is happening in Germany?
The strongest business closure in almost 20 years, what is happening in Germany

Expensive energy, a lack of skilled labor, and a lack of business successors are leading to an increase in the number of business closures and bankruptcies in Germany.

187,744 companies in Germany closed down last year, the highest number of closures in almost 20 years. This is an increase of almost 10 percent compared to the previous year. These are the data of the annual joint analysis by the economic information agency Creditreform and the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim.

According to the analysis, the dynamics of the crisis are now spreading to all areas, including gastronomy and the healthcare sector. And unlike in previous years, even companies that are, in fact, economically sound and stable are now ceasing their activities.

Gastronomy and hospitality

The analysis states that the strongest increase in the number of business closures was recorded in the gastronomy and hospitality sector. In 2025, around 15,000 restaurants, cafes and accommodation enterprises closed their activities, which is 15 percent more compared to 2024.

A reduced VAT rate of 7 percent for food has been applied to German gastronomy since January 1, 2026. But "the VAT reduction to support the gastronomy sector compared to other branches seems to have failed to alleviate the difficult situation in this sector," the analysis states.

Deterioration of the situation in the health sector

In the health sector, the negative trend that has been observed for about ten years continued: the number of business closures in this field reached about 11,000 cases, and is now about twice as high as in 2008.

Last year alone, approximately 5,500 medical clinics closed their operations, about 23 percent more than in 2024. Often the reason is that doctors retire and cannot find someone to take over and continue running their clinic.

Industry was also hit hard.

In the industrial sector, around 11,000 enterprises ceased their activity, which means 10 percent more closures compared to a year ago.

Creditreform expert Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch called the increase in bankruptcies a "crisis claw" that is "grabbing and damaging the German economy from two sides": on the one hand, geopolitical turmoil, such as the war with Iran or US customs tariffs, and on the other, high energy prices and large bureaucracy within the country.

ZEW researcher Sandra Gottschalk points out that only 13 percent of the nearly 190,000 closures recorded last year were the result of bankruptcy. According to her, most businesses close almost unnoticed, without formal bankruptcy proceedings and without attracting much public attention. /DW


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