The economic crisis in Austria is leaving clear traces. Last year, 4,156 companies slipped into insolvency proceedings – an increase of 23 percent year-on-year. As the Alpine Creditors Association (AKV) announced, the number was significantly higher than the values of the financial crisis around 2008.
The AKV, which represents creditors in insolvency proceedings, blamed the recession, increased production costs as well as growing unemployment and declining consumer sentiment for the increase in bankruptcies. Most of the bankruptcies in 2024 affected the retail, construction and catering sectors.
The real estate investor René Benko and the Signa Group he founded were also responsible for the largest insolvency complex in 2024. The entrepreneur, a Benko family foundation and several Signa sub-companies became insolvent in 2024. Their liabilities together amounted to around 7.5 billion euros, according to the AKV. The holding company and the core companies of the nested Signa Group had already filed for bankruptcy in 2023.