By far the largest insolvency, with almost 70 million euros in debt, was caused by the bio-energy plant manufacturer Polytechnik Luft- und Feuerungstechnik GmbH from Lower Austria. The company employs 109 people and has been running since the beginning of February.
In the industry ranking, the “Retail and motor vehicles” sector recorded the most cases with 176 bankruptcies, followed by the construction industry (164 cases) and health and social services (115 cases).
In the latter area, it is noticeable that the social security funds are apparently trying to send many self-employed caregivers (from abroad) into bankruptcy because of open contributions. Meanwhile, private bankruptcies have risen by 20 percent to 2,135 cases compared to the previous year.
“All in all, it can be said that even at the end of the second year of Corona, the pandemic is not a massive driver of private bankruptcies. The majority of people are crisis-resistant,” says KSV1870 expert Karl-Heinz Götze. “From today’s perspective, it is quite realistic that the latest developments in the area of private bankruptcy will continue in the coming months.”