The accounts before the fall
Who enters insolvency proceedings, and what their accounts said just before. A reading of business failures based on CapFi financial data.
in Q2 2026
- 15,511 companies entered insolvency proceedings in Q2, against 15,319 a year earlier. Over the half-year, volumes are stable, nearly twice the 2022 level.
- Nearly two failing companies in three had published no accounts. For a supplier, a banker or a buyer, they were invisible.
- Among those that did publish, 76% showed a positive EBITDA at their last balance sheet. Failure comes from cash first, not from the income statement.
- The CapFi score sorts the risk: 9.9 failures per 1,000 companies rated 0 to 2 over the quarter, against 1.9 for the best rated.
The plateau holds
Companies subject to an opening judgment published in the BODACC during the quarter.
With 15,511 companies entering proceedings, Q2 2026 sits 1.3% above Q2 2025. Over the whole half-year, 30,691 companies are affected, against 30,945 a year earlier.
The level remains very high: second-quarter volumes have risen by three quarters since 2022. The steady rise from 2022 to 2024 has given way to a plateau that is now confirmed.
Court-supervised reorganisations are stable: 4,644 openings, against 4,650 a year earlier. They account for 30% of proceedings. The rest are direct liquidations and, marginally, safeguard proceedings.
Volumes are dated by BODACC publication, a few weeks after the judgment, and cover companies only. They differ from statistics based on the judgment date that include sole traders and associations: Altares thus counts 17,486 failures over the quarter, up 5.4%.
Failures without published accounts
Failing companies of the quarter, by their latest accounts.
10,093 of the 15,511 companies entering proceedings had published no accounts. Confidentiality, late filing, a company too young: for their partners, the risk could not be read.
That is the first lesson of the quarter for a supplier or a buyer: the absence of published accounts is a signal in itself, and the most frequent one among failing companies.
Among the 5,418 companies that did publish, the vast majority were neither loss-making nor in negative net worth at their last balance sheet. The tipping point comes between two year-ends: a lost customer, an unpaid invoice, a bank repayment. Cash gives way before profit does.
Accounts: latest financial year published and known to CapFi, sometimes more than a year before the failure.
The CapFi score upstream
Failures in the quarter per 1,000 companies, by CapFi financial rating, from 0 (fragile) to 10 (solid).
A company rated 0 to 2 out of 10 failed 5 times more often than a company rated 7 to 10 over the quarter. Risk falls at every rating step, without exception. Over a year, this pace represents about 4% of the lowest-rated companies, against less than 1% of the best rated.
A good rating is no guarantee, though: 23% of rated failures concern companies rated 7 to 10. These are shocks that annual accounts cannot anticipate, such as the loss of a major customer or the failure of a main client.
Hence the value of combining the rating with day-to-day signals: late filings, registered liens, changes of directors, press coverage.
Small and independent
Revenue at the last balance sheet of failing companies where it is known.
83% of failing companies with known revenue had sales below one million euros. Companies above €5m account for only 5% of cases.
Failure remains a matter for independent companies. A group subsidiary has a shareholder able to support its cash position, which explains its small share.
One failing manager in six is 60 or older. For these companies, proceedings often arrive just when succession should have been prepared. An early sale, even at a modest price, usually preserves more value than a court-ordered takeover.
Diverging sectors
Change in the number of companies entering insolvency proceedings, Q2 2026 compared with Q2 2025.
Hospitality and food service (+11.7%) and business services (+11.3%) drive the rise this quarter. Together they account for 4,470 companies entering proceedings.
Retail and wholesale is stable (+0.3%) and remains the largest contributor, with 3,334 companies.
Construction (−4.3%), real estate (−6.1%) and transport (−3.8%) continue to fall. Industry and digital barely move, less than 2% apart from a year earlier.
Takeovers of the quarter
Proceedings do not always end a business. Six takeovers tracked by CapFi, each party linked to its profile.
Bouchara (Eurodif) by AA Investments (Hong Kong)
Home decoration retailer in reorganisation: 25 stores out of 52 and 184 jobs taken over.
Polytechnyl by Lone Star Funds
Chemicals, more than €600m in revenue. Taken over for €10.1m with a heavy workforce restructuring.
Collège de Paris by Reworld Media (Unify Group)
Private education: assets representing nearly €90m in revenue bought through the court.
NDC Foundry by Carlesimo Groupe
Rochefort foundry, €10.5m in revenue: 59 jobs saved, liquidation avoided.
Ipsomedic by Askleia
French paracetamol production: patents taken over, 13 employees out of 17 kept.
TEHTRIS by Jolt Capital
Cybersecurity software publisher taken over after reorganisation, with products and clients continuing.
Buyers are first and foremost industrial groups in the same trade, picking up brands, production capacity or know-how at a lower cost. Specialist funds step in on heavier cases, with a restructuring plan.
The price paid is often far below the value of the business before its difficulties. For a manager who sees the situation deteriorating, an organised sale before proceedings is almost always the best option.
Spot the risk before the judgment
Financial rating, late filings, liens, changes of directors and BODACC notices: CapFi monitors your clients, suppliers and targets day to day and alerts you when their situation changes.
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A first clear decline in Q3
12,135 companies entered insolvency proceedings, down 7.5% year on year. Two in three had no published accounts.
Read the observatory →All insights →Sources: opening judgments for safeguard, reorganisation and judicial liquidation published in the BODACC during the quarter, each company counted once; latest financial year published and known to CapFi, and CapFi financial rating; deal summaries from the CapFi database. Context: Altares, Business failures and safeguards, Q2 2026 (press release of 16 July 2026).
