Since 2020, around 48,000 hospitality businesses have closed across Germany and 6,100 have filed for insolvency, according to a study by the credit agency Creditreform, which was published on Thursday.
The experts expect the sector to thin out even further. "The wave has only just begun," said Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of Creditreform's economic research.
According to the study, one in 10 companies in the catering industry closed down last year alone. At 14,000, the number of closures in 2023 was higher than in the previous three years, but still below the pre-coronavirus level. The same applies to the number of insolvencies.
Hantzsch sees one reason for this in the government aid during the lockdowns, which would have ensured that many companies remained afloat and prevented closures for the time being.
There are several reasons for the industry's difficulties, he said. "The catering industry is one of the main losers in the aftermath of the crisis in recent years. The catering industry had not yet recovered from the coronavirus crisis when the next blow came with inflation," said Hantzsch.
The industry is at the mercy of the increased costs, and the necessary price increases are driving customers away. As a result, price-adjusted sales and earnings are below pre-pandemic levels.
"The overall economic conditions are currently anything but favourable for the hospitality industry. The increase in VAT on food at the beginning of the year has certainly not helped to ease the situation," said Hantzsch.