How to Get a List of Bankrupt Businesses for Free

67,830 businesses closed in France in 2024. This is a record since 2009. 255,000 jobs at risk. 46,000 direct bankruptcies.

Behind these numbers: businesses to take over. Equipment to sell. Customer lists without owners. Properties to recover.

The classic problem: how to find these opportunities before your competitors?

Most people wait for the BODACC (Official Bulletin of Civil and Commercial Announcements). It's the official source. But it's slow. 3 to 6 weeks delay. In the meantime, the best opportunities disappear.

There is a faster method. Real-time. Free. That few people use.

Google Maps.

When a business permanently closes, the owner updates their Google Maps listing. They mark "Permanently Closed." It's instantaneous. Not in three weeks. Now.

You have 2 to 4 weeks ahead of the BODACC. That's huge for seizing an opportunity.

This article shows you exactly how to do it. No technical skills required. No cost. You will learn to identify businesses in bankruptcy before almost everyone else.

Why 2024 is a Record Year for Closures

The Numbers That Change Everything

67,830 business failures in 2024. That's +17% compared to 2023. More than in 2009, the year of the global financial crisis.

To put this in perspective: a business closes every 8 minutes in France. Every day. Without interruption.

255,000 jobs affected. Employees losing their jobs overnight. Owners seeing their lives collapse.

But here’s the paradox: every closure creates an opportunity for someone else.

A restaurant closing? The kitchen equipment is worth €50,000 to €100,000. Tables, chairs, dishes. Furniture. Everything can be recovered.

A garage closing? Tools, diagnostic equipment, stock of parts. Loyal customers looking for a new mechanic.

A hair salon? The clientele is the main asset. You can take it over. The walls, chairs, mirrors. Product stocks.

That's why professional buyers win. They don't create a business from scratch. They take the best parts of another.

The Most Affected Sectors

Some sectors are bleeding more than others.

Wholesale: +76% failures. Importers, distributors, wholesalers. Why? Competition from e-commerce. Compressed margins. Changing buying habits.

Manufacturing: +75% increase. Factories closing. Machine tools available. Production equipment worth millions sold at bargain prices.

Transport: +59% rise. Trucks, warehouses, logistics bases. Fuel costs killing margins.

Business Services: +35%. Marketing agencies, consulting firms, design offices. Less physical equipment but often very interesting customer files.

HoReCa (Hotels-Restaurants-Cafés): A fragile sector since the pandemic. Restaurants continue to close. Cafés disappear. Hotels empty out.

Automotive: Traditional garages are not keeping up with the electric transition. Many are closing. Massive opportunities for those buying electric diagnostic equipment.

Real Estate: Real estate agencies in trouble. Client portfolios to take over. Databases of properties for sale.

If you're looking to take over a business, this moment is the best in 10 years. The supply is huge. Prices are low. Owners want to sell quickly.

Where Closures Are Concentrated

Île-de-France: 16,151 failures. Paris and its region have the most closures. But also the most opportunities.

Bouches-du-Rhône: 23,000 jobs at risk in this department. Marseille, Aix, the entire PACA region is suffering.

Rhône: Lyon and its region are also seeing massive closures.

A paradox: economically dynamic regions are also the most affected. Why? More businesses = more potential bankruptcies. But also more potential buyers. More capital available.

If you are in these regions, the opportunity is immense.

The Limitation of BODACC: Why It's Too Slow

How BODACC Works

BODACC is the official source. All collective procedures (liquidations, recoveries) are published there. It's mandatory by law.

You find BODACC at bodacc.fr. You search by commercial court, by SIREN, by business name. You find the procedures.

It's free. It's official. It's comprehensive.

But it's also slow.

Publication Delay

Between the moment a business closes and when it appears on BODACC, there is a delay of 3 to 6 weeks. Sometimes more.

Why this delay?

Administrative Process: The business stops payments. Creditors notice. Someone files a complaint with the court. The court appoints an administrator. The administrator makes a report. The judgment is pronounced. The publication follows.

Backlog of Cases: Commercial courts are overloaded. Hundreds of cases per month. Publications pile up.

Transmission Delay: Between the judgment and BODACC publication, there is an administrative chain. Court → BODACC → online publication.

Result: 3 to 6 weeks. Sometimes more.

In the meantime, what happens?

Week 1-2: The owner realizes it's over. They close the doors. They update their Google Maps listing. They call their customers to say they are closing.

Week 2-4: Liquidators start taking inventory. Interesting assets (equipment, stock) are identified. Potential buyers contact them directly.

Week 4-6: Some assets are already sold. The best customers have gone elsewhere.

Week 6+: BODACC publishes. But at this stage, the best opportunities have disappeared.

That's why professionals do not rely on BODACC to identify opportunities. They use other methods. Faster.

Other Limitations of BODACC

Beyond the delay, BODACC has other issues.

Minimal Data: You only have the SIREN, name, address, court. No phone. No email. No website. No social media. No contact data.

Outdated Interface: BODACC looks like a 90s website. Searching is complicated. Data export is tedious.

No Geolocation: You cannot search "all closures in Paris." You must search by commercial court. Complex and not intuitive.

No Advanced Filters: You cannot filter by industry. You cannot search only for liquidations (vs recoveries). You cannot sort by company size.

No Enriched Data: No info on Google reviews, social media, technologies used, company history.

BODACC is reliable. Official. Free. But slow and impractical.

The Google Maps Method: Real-Time and Enriched Data

Why Google Maps Detects Closures First

When a business permanently closes, the owner updates their Google Maps listing.

Why? Because otherwise, they receive calls from customers finding the door closed. People coming physically and discovering the closure. Negative reviews piling up ("Closed for 2 months but the listing is still active").

The owner updates the status to avoid this. They mark "Permanently Closed." It's instantaneous. Google updates the listing within hours.

You have the info in real-time. Not in 3-6 weeks. Now.

Real-Time vs Delay: Google Maps gives you 2 to 4 weeks ahead of BODACC. That's huge.

The Data You Get

When you extract a Google Maps listing, you get much more than BODACC.

Basic Information:

Business name
Full address (street, city, postal code)
Phone (often several numbers)
Email (up to 5 addresses)
Website
Activity categories

Engagement Data:

Google rating (average)
Number of reviews
Review history (full text, author, date)
Photos of the establishment

Social Media:

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter
Direct links to the pages

Precise Geolocation:

GPS coordinates
Google Place ID
Ability to filter by radius

Current Status:

Open, Temporarily Closed, Permanently Closed
Opening hours

All this in an exportable format. CSV or Excel. Ready to use.

It's exponentially more useful than BODACC for identifying opportunities.

Correlation with Bankruptcy

The logical question: are all businesses "Permanently Closed" in bankruptcy?

No. Some have closed for other reasons:

Owner's retirement
Relocation
Change of activity
Sale to a competitor

But there is a strong correlation.

Correlation Rate: 70 to 80% of businesses "Permanently Closed" are in liquidation or will be soon.

The other 20-30% are false positives. But even with this rate, you have 7 to 8 real opportunities out of 10.

Cross-Verification: You can easily verify. Look at recent Google reviews. Often, the last reviews say "They have closed" or "Closed for 2 months." This confirms the status.

You can also cross-reference with BODACC. But you already have 2-4 weeks ahead.

Practical Guide: 5 Steps to Find Closed Businesses

Step 1: Choose Your Geographic Area

Decide where you are searching.

By city: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Nice. You can search for a specific city.

By department: 75 (Paris), 13 (Bouches-du-Rhône), 69 (Rhône). Or several departments at once.

By region: Île-de-France, PACA, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Or all of France.

By radius: 50 km around Lyon. 30 km around Paris. Useful if you have a specific area.

Tip: Start with a specific area (your city or department). It's easier to manage. Then expand if you want.

Step 2: Select Your Industry

You can search for ALL closed businesses. No restrictions.

Or filter by sector. Google Maps has 4000+ activity categories.

Examples of popular filters:

Restaurants and cafés
Retail (clothing, electronics, etc.)
Auto garages
Hair salons
Real estate agencies
Hotels
Construction companies
Medical offices
Shoe stores
Bakeries

Tip: Filter by sector if you have an area of expertise. If you are a mechanic, look for closed garages. If you are a restaurateur, look for closed restaurants.

If you don't know, leave all sectors. You will have more choices.

Step 3: Activate the "Permanently Closed" Filter

This is the key filter.

You will only search for businesses with the status "Permanently Closed." Not "Temporarily Closed." Not "Open." Permanently closed.

You can combine this filter with others:

Email Presence: Only businesses with available email. Useful if you want to contact by email.

Phone Presence: To call directly.

Website Presence: If you want to assess the digital asset.

Google Rating: Filter by average rating. 4.5 stars = good opportunity (well-managed business before closure). 2 stars = possible structural issues.

Number of Reviews: More reviews = more customer traffic before closure. Good signal for a takeover.

Tip: Start simple. Just "Permanently Closed." Then add other filters if you want to refine.

Step 4: Launch the Search and Preview

Click "Search." The system processes your request in a few seconds.

You get:

Total number of establishments found
Preview of the first listings
Data available for each listing

You immediately see if the data is relevant. If you have enough contacts. If it's what you are looking for.

Concrete Example: You search for "Permanently Closed Restaurants in Paris." You find 247 results. You see the top 5: names, addresses, phones, emails. You check that it's good. You move on to export.

Step 5: Export and Use the Data

Click "Export." You choose the format: CSV or Excel.

The downloaded file contains all the data:

Business name
Full address
Phone(s)
Email(s) - up to 5 per listing
Website
Social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter)
Google rating and number of reviews
Status (Permanently Closed)
Activity category
GPS coordinates
Review history (full text, author, date)

You now have a fresh list. Real-time. With all the contacts.

Next Steps:

Import into your CRM (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce)
Import into Google Sheets for analysis
Use directly to contact (calls, emails)
Cross-reference with BODACC to confirm liquidations

Comparison: Google Maps vs Official Sources

BODACC: Reliable but Slow

BODACC is the official source. No doubt about it.

Advantages:

100% official and legally valid
Guaranteed comprehensiveness (all procedures)
Free
Recognized by the courts

Limitations:

Delay of 3-6 weeks minimum
Complex and unintuitive interface
No contact data (just SIREN, name, address)
No precise geolocation
Search by commercial court only
Difficult data export

Verdict: Use BODACC to confirm a liquidation. Not to identify opportunities first.

Delta Assurances: Comprehensive but Expensive

Delta offers lists of business failures. Reliable data. Regular updates.