Morning Warning List
Hain Celestial, the owner of Sleepytime tea, has $549.8m of bank loans due on 22 December, and the sale meant to pay part of them is stuck.
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Breaking
Bankrupt news, as it happensInsolvencies and court filings the day they happen, including the ones the big outlets miss. Every line has a source.
sonnen GmbH
sonnen, Germany's home-battery pioneer, has filed for insolvency.
No court had opened proceedings, and no administrator had been named, when I wrote this.
Read the report
The world
Top 5 that morning- 1
Mercer International
Makes wood pulp, timber and other wood products in Germany and Canada.
If it fallsPulp and timber mills in two countries, and the bondholders still waiting for their interest.
Missing an interest payment is one of the clearest warning signs there is, and Bloomberg now reports it is weighing Chapter 11.
Nothing filed. Did not pay a $25.8m interest payment due on 1 October; its grace period ends about 31 October. Talks with lenders continue.
- Reportedly weighing Chapter 11, Bloomberg reports · 21 Oct 2026 · source
- 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 Story88/100Worse than last timeWarningSeveral serious signs at once. - 2
Thames Water
Supplies water and takes away sewage for almost 16 million customers in London and the Thames Valley.
If it fallsWater and sewage for almost 16 million people, and about £20bn of debt.
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, Reuters reports. 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 Story75/100UnchangedWarningSeveral serious signs at once. - 3
Hain Celestial
Owns natural food brands such as Celestial Seasonings teas, Sleepytime among them, and Earth’s Best baby food.
If it fallsHousehold brands such as Sleepytime tea and Earth's Best baby food, and more than half a billion dollars of loans.
It agreed to sell its European brands to pay down debt, but the deal needed every lender to extend the loans by 12 October, and that did not happen. Bloomberg reports it is weighing Chapter 11; nothing is decided.
Nothing filed. $549.8m of bank loans fall due on 22 December. Its accounts warn of substantial doubt about its future.
- $549.8m of bank loans due on 22 December, and a warning of “substantial doubt” about its future · May 2026 · source
- The lenders’ extension needed for its European sale was not agreed by 12 October · 15 Oct 2026 · source
- Reportedly weighing Chapter 11, possibly “as soon as next month”, Bloomberg reports · 15 Oct 2026 · source
WatchWhether every lender agrees to move the 22 December date.
Read the 5 Minute Story85/100New on the listWarningSeveral serious signs at once. - 4
Poundland
Runs about 600 discount shops in the UK and Ireland, where they are called Dealz.
If it fallsAbout 600 discount shops in the UK and Ireland.
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 Story60/100UnchangedWarningSeveral serious signs at once. - 5
CoreWeave
Rents out huge data centres full of Nvidia AI chips to the companies building AI.
If it fallsAbout $35bn of debt, and AI companies that rent its computer rooms.
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 Story35/100UnchangedWatchSigns worth watching.
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.
- 1
CPH Steel
Made and fitted steel structures for Danish building projects.
If it fallsMore than 1,300 suppliers left unpaid.
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 Story100/100UnchangedBankruptDeclared bankrupt by a court. - 2
Velkommen group
Sold electricity to Danish homes under several brand names.
If it fallsDanish homes that bought their electricity from it.
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 Story92/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun. - 3
Humac
Sells Apple products in Denmark, with advice, set-up and repairs, through its own shops.
If it fallsApple shops across Denmark.
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 Story90/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun. - 4
Hamiconsult
An engineering consultancy in Herning that advised on building and construction projects.
If it fallsOne engineering consultancy in Herning.
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 Story100/100UnchangedBankruptDeclared bankrupt by a court. - 5
Nimbus
Tried to bring back Nimbus, the classic Danish motorcycle, as an electric motorcycle.
If it fallsAlmost six hundred small shareholders who bought into the dream.
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 Story92/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun.
The BANKRUPT Meter
One number for every company, from 0 to 100. The higher it is, the closer the company is to bankruptcy. 100 means a court has declared it bankrupt.
Filed and Bankrupt are facts from courts and filings. Watch and Warning are my reading of the signs, based on the sources listed under each company.