Hellweg Insolvency in Austria: €23.88 Million in Debt with 165 Employees

Around 280 creditors are affected by the insolvency, according to KSV1870. Of the liabilities, approximately €7.9 million are attributable to banks, €3.4 million to suppliers, €3.1 million to affiliated companies, and €8.1 million to other liabilities. The creditor protection organizations AKV, Creditreform, and KSV1870 provided joint information about the proceedings on Tuesday.

Creditors and Offered Quota

According to the credit protectors, creditors are being offered a minimum quota of 30 percent as part of the self-administration restructuring proceedings. From now on, creditor claims can be registered through KSV1870, which represents the creditors.

The DIY chain employs 165 employees in Austria. The company's assets at book value amount to €20.8 million; at liquidation values, they amount to €7.4 million. The free estate assets after deduction of separation and exclusion rights amount to €2.9 million.

Six Stores in Four Federal States

Hellweg operates six stores in Austria: at 4560 Kirchdorf (Am Brauteich 7), 4910 Ried (Grillparzerstraße 1), 5204 Straßwalchen (Bergstraße 1), 8020 Graz (Eckertstraße 5), 8074 Raaba (Josef-Krainer-Straße 16), and 8280 Fürstenfeld (Grazerstraße 26). Four of these locations are in Styria.

The Austrian Hellweg subsidiary is the largest, but not the only, insolvency proceedings of the current year in Upper Austria. In second place, according to KSV1870, is the proceedings of Green Business Center Linz GmbH with liabilities of approximately €15 million, followed in third place by Immowerte GmbH with approximately €12 million.

Background: High Costs and Parent in Restructuring

According to the credit protectors, the background to the crisis is high rents, increased purchase prices, and inflation-related cost increases. Self-administration restructuring proceedings were also opened over the German parent company in Essen in mid-June 2026.

Retail Sector Under Pressure

The insolvency of the Hellweg subsidiary comes amid an already strained industry trend. In the first half of 2026, a total of 553 insolvency proceedings were opened over retail businesses in Austria. This puts retail in first place in the sector comparison, ahead of the construction industry with 455 insolvencies. However, the figure of 553 proceedings represents a decline of 6.3 percent compared to the same period of the first half of 2025.