Morning Warning List
sonnen, Germany’s home-battery pioneer, filed for insolvency two months after Shell sold it, and a São Paulo court accepted Casas Bahia’s request for court protection.
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Denmark
Recent falls and rescuesNo new Danish company showed early danger signs since the last edition. These are this autumn’s falls and rescues, so we can learn from them. Early warnings appear here the day we find them.
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Humac
Sells Apple products in Denmark, with advice, set-up and repairs, through its own shops.
Eight years of losses in a row. Now the man who sold it in 2024 has bought it back.
Rescued. Closed on 13 August, reopened on 16 September under a new owner.
- Went into reconstruction and closed every shop and the webshop · 13 Aug 2026 · source
- Lost DKK 27 million in 2025, its eighth losing year in a row · 2025 accounts · source
WatchWhether the new owner can make the shops pay.
Read the 5 Minute StoryDThe old company went into reconstruction - 2
Velkommen group
Sold electricity to Danish homes under several brand names.
Customers waited too long for money they were owed, and the companies lost the right to sell power.
The grid companies asked the court to declare the four companies bankrupt. More than 32,000 customers were moved to new suppliers on 30 June.
- Late with refunds in most cases checked by the regulator · 30 Jun 2026 · source
- Grid companies Cerius and Radius asked for bankruptcy · 2026 · source
WatchHow much customers get back.
Read the 5 Minute StoryDBankruptcy requested - 3
Hamiconsult
An engineering consultancy in Herning that advised on building and construction projects.
The warning was in its own accounts: the last annual report already doubted the company could carry on.
Declared bankrupt by the court in Herning on 15 September.
- Declared bankrupt; a sister company was asked into bankruptcy the same day · 15 Sep 2026 · source
WatchWhat happens to the rest of the group.
Read the 5 Minute StoryDBankrupt - 4
CPH Steel
Made and fitted steel structures for Danish building projects.
A few building jobs that went wrong emptied the till. More than 1,300 suppliers were left unpaid.
Reconstruction in July failed. Declared bankrupt on 5 August.
- Rescue attempt failed within weeks · 5 Aug 2026 · source
- More than 1,300 creditors unpaid when reconstruction began · 31 Jul 2026 · source
WatchWhether anyone buys the business.
Read the 5 Minute StoryDBankrupt - 5
Nimbus
Tried to bring back Nimbus, the classic Danish motorcycle, as an electric motorcycle.
Twelve years of trying to bring back a Danish legend ended before the electric motorcycle reached the road.
Asked into bankruptcy in June, according to its own website.
- Bankruptcy requested · 12 Jun 2026 · source
WatchWhether someone buys the name.
Read the 5 Minute StoryDBankruptcy requested
The world
Top 5 that morning- 1
Thames Water
Supplies water and takes away sewage for almost 16 million customers in London and the Thames Valley.
Almost 16 million customers depend on it, and it carries about £20bn of debt, Reuters reports. In my view, its creditors now hold the key to its next year.
Nothing filed. It has asked creditors for £2.4bn more emergency funding to keep going into autumn 2027. They vote on 29 October.
- Asked to raise its emergency loan by £2.4bn, to £5.4bn, to keep going into autumn 2027, Reuters reports · 15 Oct 2026 · source
- Reported to have offered Pimco sweeter terms to win its support, Bloomberg reports · 20 Oct 2026 · source
- Has drawn £2.65bn of its £3bn emergency loan and could run short of cash by early 2027, according to Reuters · 15 Oct 2026 · source
- Net debt rose to £18.5bn in the year to March 2026, from £16.8bn · 15 Jul 2026 · source
WatchThe creditor vote on 29 October.
Read the 5 Minute StoryNot yet scored - 2
CoreWeave
Rents out huge data centres full of Nvidia AI chips to the companies building AI.
Customers want everything it can build, but much of its growth is paid for with borrowed money. Its bonds now pay a record yield, a price lenders usually ask of companies they worry about.
Nothing filed. Its shares still trade.
- Its 2031 bonds were priced to pay a record 15.76% a year, Benzinga reports · 22 Oct 2026 · source
- Shares at $56.50, down 70% from their peak · 22 Oct 2026 · source
- A bank analyst said a big fall in its borrowing costs is “increasingly unlikely” · 20 Oct 2026 · source
- Debt rose from $21bn to $35bn in six months · Q2 2026 report · source
WatchAny new loan deals, and its results, expected in mid-November.
Read the 5 Minute Story44/100Worse than last timeCCCSerious weak spots - 3
Poundland
Runs about 600 discount shops in the UK and Ireland, where they are called Dealz.
Customers are coming back to the shops, but in my view buyers and lenders now decide its future.
Nothing filed. A sale or break-up is targeted by the end of October, PA reports.
- Up for sale, whole or in parts, with a deal targeted by the end of October · 19 Oct 2026 · source
- New directors joined on 15 October as sale talks intensified · 15 Oct 2026 · source
- A union warned it could go into administration “within days”. That is the union’s claim · 13 Oct 2026 · source
WatchWho buys it, and whether all the shops stay open.
Read the 5 Minute Story29/100UnchangedCIn trouble - 4
Mercer International
Makes wood pulp, timber and other wood products in Germany and Canada.
Not yet scored. Missing an interest payment is one of the clearest warning signs there is.
Did not pay a $25.8m interest payment due on 1 October and is using its grace period, which ends about 31 October, the company says. Talks with lenders continue.
- Did not pay $25.8m of interest due on its bonds · 1 Oct 2026 · source
WatchWhether a deal with lenders arrives before about 31 October.
Read the 5 Minute StoryNot yet scored - 5
Casas Bahia
Sells household appliances, electronics and furniture across Brazil, in its shops and online.
It had already rescheduled its bank debt out of court in 2024. In my view, high interest rates hit a shop that also lives on credit twice.
Filed for recuperação judicial, Brazil’s court-supervised rescue, on 16 August, with claims of R$17.3bn. A São Paulo court accepted the request on 21 October. Creditors must now vote on a plan.
- A São Paulo court accepted its request for court protection and named an administrator · 21 Oct 2026 · source
- Asked a court for protection from R$17.3bn of claims · 16 Aug 2026 · source
- Lost R$10.1bn from April to June, much of it from write-downs and closing 298 shops · Q2 2026 · source
WatchWhether creditors back its rescue plan.
Read the 5 Minute StoryNot yet scored