Around 190,000 companies closed in Germany in 2025, an increase of around 10% compared to the previous year. Many of them closed because their owners had no successors, according to the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW).
“The number of closures has increased particularly sharply in the restaurant and hotel industry, the automotive industry and medical practices. It is noteworthy that only one in eight closures is due to bankruptcy (13%). More and more companies with good solvency are closing voluntarily. In addition to economic difficulties, a shortage of skilled workers, high costs and a lack of heirs to pass on the business are contributing to the closure rate, ZEW notes in a joint study with Creditreform.
According to Sandra Gottschalk of ZEW, statistics show that the German economy remains under pressure, partly due to high energy prices. The shortage of qualified personnel affects almost every sector of the economy. Demographic challenges - an aging population - are leading to family businesses being left without heirs, Gottschalk explained. The managers of almost a third of the family businesses that will close by 2025 will be over 65 years old. In 2002, their share was 14%.