Record numbers of companies will go bankrupt next year with 200,000 insolvencies in Europe alone and “an explosion” of failed businesses in the US, according to the world’s largest credit insurer. The US will see 62,000 companies collapse next year, compared with 42,000 this year and 28,000 last year, says a report by Euler Hermes, part of German insurer Allianz. In western Europe, however, the larger number of small companies mean insolvencies are expected to rise by a third from 149,000 last year to 197,000 next. The country with the highest number of insolvencies expected for next year is France with 63,000, although in Europe, Spain, Ireland and the UK are forecast to see the most dramatic rises. Nearly four times as many Spanish companies will go bust next year as in 2007 while the level in the UK will nearly double to 38,000. In Japan, the only Asian country surveyed, the number of bankruptcies is expected to rise from 14,000 last year to 17,000 next. All countries except Japan will see more insolvencies than in the previous downturn of 2001-02.
