German corporate insolvencies are projected to hit their highest level in more than a decade this year, a new study revealed ​on Monday, as the nation grapples with a stubborn economic downturn, Reuters reported. Approximately 23,900 companies are ‌expected to file for bankruptcy in 2025, an 8.3% increase from 2024 and the highest figure since 2014, according ‌to a report by credit agency Creditreform. While that growth would be slower than in previous years, the rising numbers underscore deep-seated challenges facing German businesses following two years of economic contraction.

Leen Bakker Belgium was declared bankrupt on Wednesday by a court in Antwerp, forcing the permanent closure of 29 stores that failed to find a buyer, NLTimes.nl reported. The bankruptcy will cost 250 employees their jobs, while about 50 others may find work in other stores. The furniture chain had been struggling in Belgium for years due to “particularly challenging market conditions” and mounting losses. This summer, the company put more than 40 Belgian locations up for sale.

Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines said on Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire the biggest Czech airline, Smartwings, along with its owner, Czech Airlines, from Prague City Air, the Associated Press reported. Pegasus said that the deal, which is worth 154 million euros (almost $180 million) was a “step forward in our continued global growth journey.” The process of transferring the ownership of Czech Airlines should be completed in 12 months, Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková said.

Swiss companies plan to relocate some of their operations and production abroad to deal with the impact of U.S. tariffs, according to a study by business association economiesuisse, Reuters reported. It surveyed more than 400 companies before and after Switzerland last month agreed a deal to reduce U.S. tariffs from 39% to 15%, with a quarter of the firms already having identified concrete steps they were taking. Nearly a third of those firms have decided to increase investments outside Switzerland and shift production and operations abroad, the survey said.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in its recently released Regional Economic Prospects report, cites the uncertainty surrounding trade policies among the main reasons for revising global growth projections for 2025 from 3.5% to 3.2%, EuroNews reported. The US government has now threatened 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and doubled levies on Chinese goods to 20%. While the direct effects of these policies have been widely discussed, the consequences for other countries remain unclear.

Scottish mountain bike brand, Deviate Cycles Limited, is insolvent, and the directors have been working with their professional advisers to try to find a buyer. Offers made were deemed insufficient, and so co-founder Ben Jones has stepped in to buy the company's assets, PinBike.com reported. Jones explained that Deviate Cycles, like too many bicycle brands, found itself in financial difficulty in the latter half of 2025 after major delays to stock availability. Stock that was supposed to arrive in the UK and be available for sale in summer did not arrive until late autumn.

According to the financial analysis platform RisCo, companies in Romania continue to face financial difficulties, leading to the opening of insolvency files and court proceedings, RomaniaJournal.ro reported. This trend is confirmed by data from November 2025, when the number of insolvency cases reached 985. Compared to November 2024, when the number of insolvencies slightly exceeded 670 cases, November 2025 shows a 46.5% increase. This surge highlights an intensification of insolvency cases during the analyzed period.

Administrators to Petrofac, the collapsed oilfield services company, are racing to secure a sale of its North Sea operations by Christmas - a move which could save thousands of British jobs. Sky News understands that Teneo, which is handling Petrofac's insolvency, received a handful of bids for its profitable UK business late last week. City sources said the administrators wanted to sign a deal with a purchaser before the end of the year.

Bel Fuse said it will record an impairment charge of up to about $14 million because Innolectric, a company in which it owns a stake, is initiating insolvency proceedings, MarketWatch.com reported. Innolectic, a German charging technology company, began insolvency proceedings in November as it has recorded several years of losses and its majority owner will not be able to provide future funding, Bel Fuse said on Wednesday.

The Bank of England said on Thursday that it was launching a stress test of how the $16 trillion global private equity and private credit industries would deal with a major financial shock, Reuters reported. The central bank said the system-wide exploratory scenario will produce a final report in early 2027 which will focus on the impact on the British economy as a whole, rather than publishing details on the vulnerabilities of individual firms. "Private equity and private credit play an increasingly valuable role in helping UK companies to innovate, invest and grow.