Restructuring plans in 2026: the opportunity before the “bankruptcy without assets”
In 2025, a worrying pattern has repeated itself: companies with viable businesses ending up in bankruptcy proceedings when there is nothing left to salvage. Not for lack of resources, but because they acted too late. In practice, "bankruptcy without assets" (formerly "express bankruptcy") has become the usual outcome for many SMEs: no liquidity, no assets, with stressed creditors and exposed managers.
In 2026, that risk will not disappear. Although the market anticipates some financial normalization, the underlying problem remains the same: liquidity has become more expensive and tolerance for deterioration has decreased. In this context, restructuring plans are, for many companies, the difference between preserving value and liquidating it.
The mistake in approaching it: negotiating when there is already a default.
Many companies only initiate discussions with banks, suppliers, or lenders once a default has already occurred. From that point on, the negotiation shifts: it ceases to be a search for a solution and becomes a power struggle. The creditor prioritizes protection, demands guarantees, reduces exposure, and gains decision-making power.
A restructuring plan works precisely the opposite way: it is used before the collapse, when there is still a business project and a real capacity to sustain it.
2026–2027: Expected rebound and a change in the “regulatory” context
According to the General Council of Economists (CGE) and REFOR, a 2% increase in bankruptcies is expected in 2026 and a 4% increase in 2027, as reported by Agencia EFE and collected by Law & Trends.
The relevant reading is not the percentage, but the driving force behind that rebound: the end of moratoriums (including the one linked to the territories affected by the DANA storm of October 2024 ) and the closure of extraordinary effects derived from the pandemic, particularly in relation to the treatment of losses in 2020 and 2021.
This implies something very concrete: there will be fewer buffers and less tolerance for waiting . The system is pushing for earlier decisions, and those who aren't prepared will be trapped in irreversible insolvency. Therefore, the debate in 2026 isn't whether or not to restructure, but whether it happens in time and with what quality of execution.
What makes a restructuring plan different?
A plan is not a document: it is an ordered output architecture with three key advantages:
Designed on time and with rigor, it reduces the likelihood of failure. Designed late or as a mere formality, it accelerates deterioration.
Early signs that demand action
In management committees, symptoms that should trigger decisions, not just "monitoring", are normalized:
When this appears, we are no longer in prevention: we are in a phase of deterioration where anticipation determines the outcome.
The real difference: planning and knowledge of the SME
Spain has historically had low success rates in insolvency proceedings, but planning and a genuine understanding of SMEs can change the outcome. In our experience (2011–2014), we achieved rates close to 95% not through “legal magic,” but through method: understanding the company, anticipating problems, streamlining the process, and balancing solutions without unnecessarily harming creditors.
Conclusion: Acting early is strategy and corporate governance
Acting quickly is not just a business decision; it's also about personal protection and good corporate governance. The companies that survive won't necessarily be the largest, but those that measure first, decide first, and negotiate first. Restructuring plans aren't a miracle cure: they're a window of opportunity. And like all windows, they eventually close.
At Confianz, the experience is clear: when action is taken in time, restructuring preserves value; when action is taken late, bankruptcy destroys it.
In times of financial strain, time is not just money: it's decision-making power. If your company is starting to show signs of decline, at Confianz we can help you evaluate options before the situation becomes irreversible. Request a meeting with our team and analyze in time whether there's still room to restructure and preserve value.
cloud technology axon
This funding has enabled the launch of around 500 research and technol...
