Surge in Business Failures Hits Pays de la Loire in 2025

In the Pays de la Loire region, business failures have surged significantly in 2025, reflecting ongoing economic struggles amidst a challenging business environment. The second quarter of this year recorded 755 failures, marking a 13% rise compared to the same period in 2024, following a troubling trend of increasing insolvencies over the past few years, including a 37% spike in 2023.

The departments most affected include Loire-Atlantique, which reported a staggering 39% increase in business failures, bringing the total for the quarter to 342 cases. Sarthe also experienced a notable rise of 15%. Meanwhile, Mayenne saw a more modest uptick of 5%, while Maine-et-Loire and Vendée noted declines of 10% and 5% respectively. Together, Loire-Atlantique and Maine-et-Loire accounted for a significant 64.6% of all failures in the region, indicating the concentration of economic distress within a few departments.

The first half of 2025 witnessed an overall 19% increase in business failures across the region. Specifically, the breakdown reveals 30% more failures in Loire-Atlantique, 18% in Maine-et-Loire, 9% in Vendée, 8% in Sarthe, and 6% in Mayenne. The sectors suffering the most from these closures include services (36%), construction (21%), and commerce (18%). The accommodation and restaurant sector has also been hard-hit, reflecting the ongoing repercussions of economic uncertainties.

On a national level, France is grappling with a broader increase in business failures as well. Despite a slight decline of 6% in collective proceedings entries from the first quarter of 2025, there was still a 3.5% increase compared to the previous year, highlighting a stark recovery from the unusually low failure rates during the pandemic years of 2020-2021. This trend illustrates the fragile state of the credit environment for many businesses, compounding the effects of persistent economic crises that have left companies vulnerable and struggling to survive.

As the outlook remain uncertain, regional authorities may need to implement targeted interventions to support struggling businesses in hopes of curbing further failures and protecting local economies.