People
Alban Baiker
Partner & Managing Director
Dusseldorf
Corporate borrowers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are facing a stern test. Our sample of more than 1,000 companies in DACH shows €151 billion in corporate debt is due to mature in 2027 and must be repaid or refinanced in the coming months – largely by borrowers struggling with closer scrutiny, tighter terms and higher costs.
These corporates will find it hard to source new funding. Access to capital is getting tighter. Private debt funds no longer offer such an attractive alternative when traditional lenders prove reluctant, and financing costs for corporate borrowers remain stubbornly high.
To compound the issue, generating cash is becoming more difficult, too, thanks to rising regulation, labor, and energy costs, and geopolitical upheaval. The effect: less capacity to invest in digitalization, automation, decarbonization, supply-chain resilience and product innovation.
To refinance successfully today, corporates need tight cash flow management and capital structures that align with evolving conditions. We have sourced and examined the latest data to paint a comprehensive picture of the credit markets as cash flow meets capital structure.
We’ve also focused on the challenging context for the region’s automotive industry, with a deep examination of a sector that’s facing a “perfect storm”: financing struggles are colliding with the pressure to fund a historic transition to new technologies, all while wrestling with changing demand, paralyzing tariffs, and aggressive competition from Chinese rivals.
For corporates today, refinancing success depends not only on access to capital but also on a company’s ability to demonstrate a clear, credible path to improving operating cash flow. As lenders and investors scrutinize cash generation and proof of execution, we look at how companies can deliver stronger cash flow and de-leverage to build resilience and realize growth.
Read the full report below or download it as a PDF.
