Restructuring proceedings in Austria

What restructuring proceedings require

Insolvency proceedings are designated restructuring proceedings if the debtor, together with the application to open them, submits an admissible restructuring plan and applies for its acceptance (section 167 IO). Unlike bankruptcy proceedings (Konkurs­verfahren), they can be opened as soon as inability to pay is imminent. On the Corporate insolvency page I describe the duties and deadlines before filing.

The restructuring plan must offer the insolvency creditors at least 20 % of their claims, payable within no more than two years from acceptance (section 141 IO). The application is inadmissible if, for example, the plan obviously cannot be fulfilled. The quota therefore has to be something that the business’s operations or third parties can actually fund; that calculation is where all preparation starts.

If you want to administer the insolvency estate yourself under the supervision of a restructuring administrator (self-administration), you must submit more, including a restructuring plan offering at least 30 %, a detailed asset register, a statement of assets and liabilities, a financial plan for the following ninety days and information on how the funds for the plan will be raised (section 169 IO). I coordinate the financial plan with your tax adviser. The court withdraws self-administration if, for example, the financial plan cannot be adhered to, if claims against the estate are not paid on time or if the plan has not been accepted within ninety days (section 170 IO).

Self-administration is more limited than its name suggests. Transactions outside the ordinary course of business require the approval of the restructuring administrator, and even an ordinary act must not be carried out if he objects (section 171 IO). Actions for insolvency avoidance (Anfechtung), the verification of claims and certain sales, among other things, are reserved to him (section 172 IO); he supervises the management and reports to the court on whether the restructuring plan can be fulfilled (section 178 IO). Even in self-administration, therefore, the essential decisions are not taken without him.

Without self-administration, an insolvency administrator (Masse­verwalter) administers the estate and continues the business; a quota of 20 % is then sufficient. Which form fits your case depends on the quota that can be achieved, on liquidity and on the creditors’ trust.

The procedure in five steps

1. Application and opening: the application, together with the restructuring plan and its enclosures, goes to the insolvency court, in Vienna the Commercial Court (Handels­gericht Wien). The opening is published in the insolvency database (Insolvenz­datei); the court appoints the administrator and at the same time schedules the hearing on the restructuring plan, as a rule sixty to ninety days ahead (section 168 IO).
2. Continuation: the business is continued, in self-administration by you, supervised by the restructuring administrator, otherwise by the insolvency administrator. It may only be realised if the restructuring plan is not accepted within ninety days of the opening (section 168(2) IO). This period shows whether the business covers its running costs.
3. Lodging and verification of claims: creditors lodge their claims with the court within the time limit for lodging claims (see Lodging a claim); the verification hearing establishes which claims are admitted and which are disputed. That determines what the quota actually costs and how much weight each creditor’s vote carries.
4. Hearing on the restructuring plan: the creditors vote on the plan. Acceptance requires a majority of the creditors present at the hearing and entitled to vote, and the claims of those in favour must exceed half of the claims of the creditors present (section 147 IO). If only one of the two majorities is reached, the debtor may request a further vote at a new hearing.
5. Confirmation and fulfilment: the court confirms the accepted plan. An appeal (Rekurs) against the confirmation may be brought by any party who did not expressly consent to the restructuring plan, and by co-debtors and guarantors (section 155(1) IO). Once the confirmation is final, the insolvency proceedings are terminated (section 152b IO) and you may again dispose freely of your assets, unless the plan provides otherwise. The quota then has to be paid on the dates laid down. You are released from the part of the claims that exceeds the quota as soon as the confirmation becomes final (section 156(1) IO); what that means in detail is set out in the next section.

What the confirmed plan achieves

Once the confirmation of the restructuring plan is final, you are released from the obligation to make good the creditors’ shortfall later (section 156(1) IO). As a rule this applies to all insolvency creditors, including those who voted against the plan or did not take part in the proceedings. Anyone personally liable for the company’s debts, for instance as guarantor, needs a separate solution; we discuss that at the outset as well.

The release is subject to one condition: if you default on the plan, the reduction and other benefits lapse in relation to the creditor concerned and that claim revives proportionately (section 156a IO). Default only occurs if a payment that is due is not made despite a written reminder granting a grace period of at least fourteen days. Deciding how high to set the quota is therefore part of the preparation.

If, for example, the plan is withdrawn, rejected with final effect or not confirmed, the court changes the designation to bankruptcy proceedings (section 167(3) IO). A restructuring plan remains possible there until the proceedings are terminated (section 140 IO); whether a second attempt has any prospect of success depends on why the first one failed.

What I handle for you

Before filing, I examine with you whether a restructuring plan is feasible and what the quota will be paid from. I describe how a restructuring strategy is developed in the section “The way out of the crisis” on the Corporate insolvency page. If I consider the plan unsound, I will tell you so plainly.

I then draft the application and the restructuring plan, compile the enclosures with you and represent you before the insolvency court and at all hearings.

Once proceedings are open, I represent you vis-à-vis the insolvency administrator or restructuring administrator. In most proceedings I work together with him in doing so and coordinate the steps with him: the continuation of the business, the documents for his reports, the financing of the quota and the timetable up to the hearing on the restructuring plan. Where it helps to secure acceptance of the plan, I also hold talks with the creditor protection associations and individual creditors before the vote.

During preparation, what happens in the business has to be legally safeguarded: payments to individual creditors may later be challenged by way of insolvency avoidance and may trigger liability of the managing directors. I am familiar with these claims from both roles: as insolvency administrator I bring them myself, and as counsel I advise and represent clients against whom they are brought.

I also represent you when proceedings are already under way, for example when a restructuring plan is still to be submitted in bankruptcy proceedings, and I support you in performing the plan until the final payment. I likewise represent creditors who have to assess a proposed restructuring plan and vote on it.

Courts regularly appoint me as insolvency administrator and restructuring administrator. I therefore know what administrators, creditor protection associations and the court look for in a restructuring plan.

Call: +43 1 712 33 30 Write an e-mail

Frequently asked questions about restructuring proceedings

Process, duration and costs

Continuation and financing

Other proceedings

Dr. Lukas Peichl, attorney at law in Vienna · As at October 2026

Call: +43 1 712 33 30 Write an e-mail