Restructuring trends in 2026: moving from reaction to anticipation

The Eight International Restructuring trends report draws on our cross-border experience to provide practical insight into the evolving restructuring landscape. It highlights where pressure is building, how capital is responding and what management teams must prioritise to navigate complexity and deliver durable turnaround outcomes in an environment where geopolitical shocks, including the war in the Middle East, are no longer episodic events but structural forces shaping corporate decision-making for years to come. As these dynamics continue to accelerate, the companies that successfully adapt will be those that combine financial discipline, operational resilience and strategic agility-embedding transformation not as a one-off event, but as a continuous capability.

Key takeaways include:

• Restructuring has become structural, not cyclical, driven by persistent cost pressure, constrained financing, and continuous geopolitical shocks.
• The conflict in the Middle East is amplifying these pressures. It is reshaping global supply chains and driving tangible increases in energy prices, maritime insurance premiums and shipping lead times, adding operational uncertainty at a time when visibility is already limited for many management teams.
• This deterioration is reflected in insolvency trends across Europe. Business failures are rising sharply, with France exceeding 68,000 insolvencies in 2025 and notable increases recorded in Germany, the UK, Poland, Benelux and Italy. Distress is broad‑based and no longer confined to isolated sectors or geographies.

Major Restructuring Trends:

• At the same time, the restructuring ecosystem itself is evolving. Private credit funds and alternative capital providers are now playing a central role, filling gaps left by increasingly cautious banks and often driving more activist, solution‑oriented interventions.
• Legal reforms are accelerating pre‑emptive restructuring, tools like StaRUG (Germany), WHOA (Netherlands), Safeguard (France) and the UK’s Restructuring Plan are enabling earlier, out‑of‑court action.
• Sector distress is increasingly structural, with retail, construction, real estate, business services and industrials facing deep margin pressure and transformation challenges.
• Distressed M&A is increasing, but remains highly selective, with bolt‑ons and carve‑outs dominating, while valuation gaps and cautious buyer sentiment slow broader deal activity.
• AI and digitalisation are emerging as resilience differentiators, companies adopting data-led monitoring and automation show stronger adaptability and early-warning capability.
• Winning companies act early and decisively, resetting ambitions, accelerating decisions (80/20 rule), and engaging stakeholders transparently to preserve value.

Early signs to watch for:

How Eight Advisory can support you

At Eight Advisory, we support companies facing underperformance: from commercial turnaround to severe distress situations. Led by more than 40 partners and directors dedicated to restructuring across Europe, our multidisciplinary experts combine financial, operational, and strategic skills to deliver pragmatic, results driven solutions. From diagnostics to execution, we design turnaround plans and assist the company in their implementation to stabilise operations, protect the value, and accelerate recovery.

Download the full report to learn more.