Morning Warning List
GiFi’s new boss stood before the Toulouse court on Friday, with a ruling due on 3 November, and a São Paulo court has backed a debt deal for Ri Happy, Brazil’s toy chain.
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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
GiFi
Sells low-priced decorations, craft supplies and seasonal goods in more than 500 shops across France.
A computer change in 2023 disrupted its stock for months, and its banks reportedly would not lend another €50 million. Its shops stay open while the court decides.
GiFi has filed. It asked the Toulouse commercial court for a redressement judiciaire, a court-led rescue, and its boss Patrick Puy appeared before the court on 23 October. The court has not yet ruled; a decision is expected on 3 November.
- Patrick Puy appeared before the Toulouse court with staff representatives; a decision is expected on 3 November · 25 Oct 2026 · source
- Asked the Toulouse commercial court for a court-led rescue; decision due on 3 November · 23 Oct 2026 · source
- Banks refused another €50m; about three months of cash left, the Journal de l’Économie reports · 20 Oct 2026 · source
- Staff representatives raised a formal alarm over the company’s finances · 6 Oct 2026 · source
WatchThe Toulouse court’s decision on 3 November.
Read the 5 Minute Story95/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun. - 2
Ri Happy group
Sells toys in about 290 shops across Brazil, under the Ri Happy and PBKids names.
Brazil’s biggest toy chain has 180 days of protection from lawsuits and 90 days to win a majority of its creditors. Its shops stay open for Christmas.
Ri Happy has filed. On 23 October a São Paulo court authorised its recuperação extrajudicial, a court-backed deal with its creditors, covering about R$827m of debt. The plan has not been approved yet.
- São Paulo court authorised the recuperação extrajudicial of six group companies; 180-day stay · 23 Oct 2026 · source
- About R$827m of unsecured debt, owed mainly to banks, suppliers and shopping-mall owners · Oct 2026 · source
WatchWhether it wins a majority of each company’s creditors within 90 days.
Read the 5 Minute Story95/100New on the listFiledA court process has begun. - 3
Casas Bahia
Sells appliances, furniture and electronics across Brazil, in shops and online.
Brazil's best-known home store chain asked for a court-led rescue in August. The court has now let it begin, which is not yet approval of a plan.
A São Paulo court let its court-led rescue go ahead on 21 October. It wants to renegotiate about R$17bn of debt.
- Court let its recuperação judicial (court-led rescue) proceed · 21 Oct 2026 · source
- Filed to renegotiate about R$17.3bn of debt · 16 Aug 2026 · source
WatchWhether creditors back its rescue plan.
Read the 5 Minute Story95/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun. - 4
Galeria
A German department-store chain with 83 stores.
It has signed a loan to keep goods flowing during the procedure, and an adviser is looking for a buyer. Its administrator expects that not all 83 stores can continue.
Galeria filed an insolvency application on 2 October, its fourth in six years. The Düsseldorf court ordered provisional proceedings on 5 October and named Frank Kebekus provisional administrator. Full proceedings have not been opened.
- Fourth insolvency application in six years; provisional proceedings since 5 October. 83 stores, about 12,000 staff · 8 Oct 2026 · source
- Signed a loan for the insolvency period with Gordon Brothers; goods are flowing and vouchers can be used again · 20 Oct 2026 · source
- Provisional administrator Frank Kebekus said not all 83 stores will probably continue · 16 Oct 2026 · source
WatchWhether a buyer appears; candidates are due in early January.
Read the 5 Minute Story95/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun. - 5
RAL Yatırım Holding
A holding company listed in Istanbul that owns stakes in other businesses.
A listed holding company now has three months of court protection to reach terms with the people it owes. Its shares are down about 95% from this year’s peak.
RAL Yatırım Holding applied for konkordato, a court-led debt agreement, on 16 October. The Ankara 2nd Commercial Court granted a three-month temporary moratorium.
- Applied for konkordato; three-month temporary moratorium granted by the Ankara 2nd Commercial Court · 20 Oct 2026 · source
- Shares down about 95% from the 2026 peak · 20 Oct 2026 · source
WatchWhether creditors back a plan within the three-month moratorium.
95/100New on the listFiledA court process has begun. - 6
Homeplus
A South Korean chain of large supermarkets.
Sales fell to about 30% of target in early October, and suppliers now ask for cash up front, its chief executive told parliament. No buyer has come forward yet.
Homeplus is in court-led rehabilitation, and the court approved its plan on 2 September. Its 67 stores, head office and online arm are for sale, with letters of intent due by the end of October.
- In court-led rehabilitation; letters of intent for 67 stores, the head office and the online arm due by end-October · 15 Oct 2026 · source
- Sales fell to about 30% of target in early October · 18 Oct 2026 · source
- Can only trade on advance payment and cash, its chief executive told a parliamentary audit · 12 Oct 2026 · source
WatchHow many offers arrive by the end of October.
Read the 5 Minute Story95/100UnchangedFiledA court process has begun. - 7
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.
Mercer International has not filed. It did not pay a $25.8m interest payment due on 1 October; its grace period ends about 31 October, its own filing says. 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 the grace period ends, about 31 October.
Read the 5 Minute Story88/100UnchangedWarningSeveral serious signs at once. - 8
Optimum Communications
Sells cable TV, broadband and phone services to homes in the United States.
Its debts add up to more than $26bn, Bloomberg reports. Nothing is decided yet, and lenders and owners could still settle without a court.
Optimum has not filed. It is weighing Chapter 11 to carry out a deal that would hand control to its lenders, Bloomberg reported on 22 October.
- Reportedly weighing Chapter 11 to carry out a debt deal; debts of more than $26bn, Bloomberg reports · 22 Oct 2026 · source
- Close to handing control to lenders including Apollo, Oaktree and JPMorgan, the Wall Street Journal reports · 21 Oct 2026 · source
WatchWhether a Chapter 11 petition or a signed lender deal comes first.
86/100New on the listWarningSeveral serious signs at once. - 9
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. A £2.4bn creditor loan would let it keep going into autumn 2027. Creditors 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
- A new split was reportedly offered to win Pimco, and the Class B creditor group reportedly agreed to back the Class A plan · 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. - 10
JetBlue
A New York airline that sells low fares with extras, such as seatback television and more legroom.
Its own savings plan is beating its targets, but fuel rose faster, and it has lost money every year since 2019. In my view, the lenders who hold its frequent-flyer programme as security have started planning for themselves.
Nothing filed. Its creditors reportedly hired PJT Partners and Akin Gump, Bloomberg reported on 23 October. Third-quarter results come on Tuesday, 27 October.
- A group of lenders, holding $2bn of bonds and a $742m loan, has hired PJT Partners and Akin Gump, Bloomberg reports · 23 Oct 2026 · source
- The bonds backed by its frequent-flyer programme fell to about 45 cents on the dollar, Bloomberg reports · 23 Oct 2026 · source
- S&P cut its credit rating to CCC+ and expects about $1bn more cash out than in this year · 8 Jun 2026 · source
- Lost $247m in the second quarter as its fuel price rose 76% in a year · 28 Jul 2026 · source
WatchTuesday’s results, and how much cash was left at the end of September.
Read the 5 Minute Story55/100UnchangedWarningSeveral serious signs at once.
Denmark
Recent falls and rescuesNo new Danish company with more than 50 staff or a known brand 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.