From cryptocurrencies to clinics: here are the rulings handed down by the main courts

From cryptocurrencies to logistics; from healthcare facilities to canteens and cinemas. From companies operating under the ‘superbonus’ scheme to those in the energy sector. Not to mention companies stripped bare by organised crime. The map of compulsory liquidations – which are on the rise in the courts of Milan and Rome – sometimes reflects what has already happened, whilst at other times it foreshadows potential future developments.

Thus, for example, in both Milan and Rome, the collapse of e-money companies features amongst the mountain of files in the bankruptcy divisions. In the capital, there is the trail left by the liquidation of Swag Internazional srl, whilst near the Duomo there is that of The Rock Trading srl, which was subsequently extended to the group’s companies, Digital Rock Holding and Onedime srl. 

In the capital of Lombardy, companies that have recently gone into compulsory liquidation operate in the retail, services and property sectors, as well as in the fashion and energy sectors. “They reflect,” analyses Laura De Simone, president of the Court’s Insolvency Section, “the economic structure of the region.” Where there is a bit of everything. And a bit of everything ends up on the first floor of the Palace of Justice (where, incidentally, a historic brand such as Giochi Preziosi has recently presented a corporate restructuring plan). But companies caught up in investigations into organised crime also end up there. Sometimes these have been turned into empty shells by the Camorra, confirms Gian Piero Scoppa, who until March was head of the insolvency division in Naples, where the long-term impact of the pandemic has led to the collapse of companies running canteens or catering services for hospitals.

Whilst in the Lombard capital the number of compulsory liquidations ordered by the court has risen by 5 per cent (410 fup to June), in Rome the number of new cases is estimated to have increased by 25 per cent. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, there are concerns regarding the financial difficulties of major healthcare organisations, such as the Fondazione Santa Lucia, which emerged from special administration on 1 July; or other well-known institutions that have entered into proceedings – still ongoing – governed by the crisis code. There are also applications for a composition with creditors from other significant businesses such as Facile Ristrutturare and Nova (Euronics). For instance, in the cinema sector, the recent liquidation of Sipario Movies followed that of other companies in the sector. The key issue, amongst many, is ‘to manage this increase’, analyses Giorgio Jachia, chairman of the Insolvency Section – ‘with a commitment to immediately investigate the issues relating to the liabilities of those who caused the financial collapse or delayed its discovery, thereby exacerbating the situation’.

In Italia’s three main cities, however, liquidations – which have increased – are increasingly seen as a last resort compared to attempts to reach negotiated settlements to the crisis, as De Simone, Jachia and Scoppa agree (see separate article): in Milan, they have risen from a single case in 2021 to 23 in 2026. ‘There are companies that offer creditors effective solutions, whilst others try to use liquidation merely to delay the start of the proceedings,’ explains Jachia. “Liquidations are increasingly confined to small businesses,” adds Scoppa. “The shift from a culture of liquidation to one of restructuring,” concludes De Simone, “is evident in the figures and in practical experience.”