Increase in startups, businesses closed, and bankruptcies. Number of car dealers stops growing

On 1 November 2022, there were 2,305,289 economically active companies registered in the Business Register. Compared to a year ago, 119,207 enterprises were added, an increase of 5.5% in 1 year.

The number of startups has been almost stable for 5 months, fluctuating between 21,000 and 22,000 per month. In the last 6 months (June to October 2022), the increase in the number of startups is a fraction higher than the same period last year.

The number of businesses that were closed is also slightly higher than the same period last year. This is also the same trend we’ve seen for the past 5 months.

Erik Stam, professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics: "Despite all the macroeconomic dynamics in recent months, the numbers of starters and closed businesses are quite stable, and there is still a substantial net increase in the number of companies."

For the number of bankruptcies, we note a growth compared to October 2021: the absolute number of bankruptcies has been increasing since August 2022. In the past month, 185 companies went bankrupt. This is significantly more than the monthly average in 2021 (128) and also more than the monthly average in the period from January to October 2022 (142). We have to go back to October 2020 for the number of bankruptcies (192) to be higher than last month.

Erik Stam: "Step by step, the number of bankruptcies is slowly increasing, but it is still historically low, lower than in the period before the coronavirus pandemic."

Construction

Looking at developments by sector, it is striking that most of the businesses that were closed can be found in Construction. There is a lot of movement in that sector. In both ‘Construction installation’ and ‘Roofing and other specialised construction work’, we see an increase in the number of closed businesses of 44% and 41% respectively. On the other hand, the number of starters in these branches is also increasing, by 44% and 22% respectively. So, on balance, there is still a growth in the number of companies active in construction.

Car trade

Developments in recent months in the number of startups and closed businesses in the car trade (Trade in and repair of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles) led to a stabilisation in the number of businesses in this branch. The past month (like in July), the number of companies in this branch declined. There were more businesses that closed their doors and fewer starters resulting in a small decrease. While last year we saw a positive balance every month, this year the growth in the number of companies in the car trade seems to have stalled.

In 2021, the difference between the number of starters and the number of closed businesses averages +60 per month. This year (through October), this number is only 19. In October, both the number of starters and the number of stoppers have increased, so the balance is close to zero (-6), as was the case in the past few months.

KVK Trend report for the Business Sector

The KVK Trend report for the Business Sector shows the trends in business dynamics over a 12-month period. The Trend report looks at business startups (starters) and closed businesses (stoppers), and specifically at bankruptcies. Trends are depicted both for sectors and regionally. In this Trend report, the figures for the month of October 2022 are compared with the same month in 2021. In addition to the trends, it identifies the industries that stood out in the last month due to the highest number of starters and stoppers.

(the Trend report is no longer available - Feb 2024)