Ten percent of catering establishments have closed since 2020

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Reference to the return to the 19 percent VAT: “The wave has only just begun”

Photo: IMAGO / Bihlmayerfotografie / IMAGO

Difficult times for restaurateurs: Since 2020, around 48,000 businesses nationwide have closed and 6,100 have filed for bankruptcy.

This is shown by a study by the credit agency Creditreform, which was published on Thursday.

The experts expect that the development will continue.

“The wave has just begun,” said Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of Creditreform economic research.

According to the study, one in ten companies in the catering industry gave up last year alone.

The number of closures in 2023 was 14,000, higher than in the previous three years, but still below the pre-Corona level.

The same applies to the number of insolvency cases.

Hantzsch sees one reason for this in the state aid during the lockdowns.

These would have ensured the survival of many companies and initially prevented closures.

There are several reasons for the industry's difficulties, he said.

»The catering industry is one of the main losers from the succession of crises in recent years.

The hospitality industry had not yet recovered from the Corona crisis when the next blow came with inflation,” says Hantzsch.

The industry is at the mercy of the increased costs, and the necessary price increases would drive away customers.

As a result, price-adjusted sales and earnings would be below pre-pandemic levels.

»The overall economic conditions are currently anything but favorable for the hospitality industry.

The return to the regular sales tax rate for food at the beginning of the year certainly did not help ease the situation.

The federal government temporarily reduced the tax rate on meals in restaurants from 19 to 7 percent in mid-2020 during the corona pandemic - among other things to cushion the energy crisis and high inflation.

The old tax rates have been in effect again since January.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the price-adjusted sales of catering establishments in 2023 were almost 13 percent lower than in 2019.

Insolvencies particularly affect small, young companies

The general manager of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), Ingrid Hartges, describes the development as “bitter”: “We were in lockdown for nine months of the three years of the pandemic and had many requirements in the entire period up to spring 2022.

“This all led to significant loss of sales,” she said.

The industry is suffering from higher personnel costs, increased food prices, a shortage of staff and the VAT increase.

»This is causing a lot of problems for the companies.

Most of the guests are loyal to us, but unfortunately there are fewer of them.«

According to Creditreform, the number of bankruptcies in the catering industry rose by 27 percent last year, more than in the economy as a whole.

Caterers and food service providers were particularly hard hit (plus 67 percent).

88 percent of all insolvencies affect small companies with up to ten employees.

49 percent met young companies that were five years old or less.

For 2024, Creditreform predicts an increase in insolvency cases to pre-pandemic levels.

The financial information service Crif also expects this.

At the end of the year, experts estimated the number of restaurants, pubs, snack bars and cafés in Germany at risk of insolvency at more than 15,000.

mik/dpa