Austria is heading towards its third consecutive record year for company bankruptcies in 2025. In the first quarter, 1,134 business insolvencies were initiated, an increase of 3.94% compared to the same period in the record year of 2024, as reported by the Alpine Creditors’ Association (AKV) on Wednesday. Including many insolvency dismissals due to insufficient assets (861 cases, +50.79%), this results in 1,995 company insolvencies, a 20% increase.

A particularly significant number of bankruptcies occurred in the real estate sector. Nine of the ten largest bankruptcies by liabilities are from this sector. The largest bankruptcies involve several corporate groups, including Signa/Benko and 6B47. The largest by far was that of the Herkules Holding GmbH (formerly Laura Holding GmbH), which belongs to Benko’s corporate group, with liabilities exceeding one billion euros. In total, the real estate sector and the financial and insurance services account for 3.3 billion euros, roughly 85% of the total liabilities of 3.91 billion euros.

3,861 Employees Affected by Bankruptcies

Despite the high liabilities, the number of affected employees was lower. In the first quarter of 2025, 3,861 employees were affected by company bankruptcies (Q1 2024: 5,673). The most jobs were affected at Palmers, with 515 jobs lost.

Once again, the retail sector was most affected, with 299 insolvencies, followed by the construction industry (250) and the hospitality industry (167). The AKV expects more than 4,500 company insolvencies this year – including dismissals due to lack of assets, the total number of insolvencies could reach nearly 8,000 by the end of the year.

More than half (53.53%) of the business bankruptcies were initiated through creditor petitions. Regionally, particularly strong increases were observed in Tyrol (+60.5%) and Salzburg (+23.6%).