Unternehmensschließungen 2025: Firmensterben so ausgeprägt wie seit fast 20 Jahren nicht

In 2025, a record 187,744 German companies closed their doors, marking the highest number of closures since nearly two decades ago. This surge in company bankruptcies, up nearly 10% from the previous year, was reported by Creditreform and the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) in their annual joint analysis. The trend reached its peak in 2007, with nearly 208,000 company closures.

The primary drivers behind this wave of company liquidations are soaring energy costs, a shortage of skilled workers, and the lack of succession planning. Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of Creditreform's economic research, noted that even seemingly healthy firms are now choosing to cease operations. Restaurants and accommodation businesses saw the sharpest decline, with around 15,000 establishments closing in 2025, a 15% increase from the prior year.

Germany introduced a reduced VAT rate of 7% for restaurants in January 2026, but this measure seems to have had little impact on the precarious situation in the hospitality industry. Meanwhile, healthcare saw steady closures, with nearly 11,000 facilities shutting down, nearly double the number in 2008. Many physicians retire without finding successors, leading to the closure of nearly 5,500 practices in 2025 alone.

The German economy is currently grappling with a "crisis wave" on two fronts: geopolitical tensions, such as the Iran war and US tariffs, and high energy prices combined with bureaucratic hurdles at home. However, only 13% of the 190,000 recorded closures were due to bankruptcy proceedings. Most business closures occur quietly, as business owners retire without finding successors. Nearly a third of all voluntary closures are now attributed to age, a significant rise compared to the past decade.