Bankruptcies on the rise in the Netherlands; Up 5% in August

The number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands has been rising for 16 months in a row, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Tuesday. In August, the courts declared 5 percent more companies bankrupt than in July, corrected for the number of court hearing days.

Not corrected for hearing days, 308 companies and institutions went bankrupt in August.

The largest number of bankruptcies happened in the trade and retail sector at 86. That is 52 more than in July. “However, the number of bankruptcies in trade was relatively low in July,” CBS said. “Moreover, August had more court hearing days than in July and June.”

The trade sector is also one of the largest in the Netherlands, with the most companies, so it is logical that it would have the most bankruptcies in absolute numbers. “Relatively speaking, the most bankruptcies were declared in the transport and storage sector in August.”

After peaking at 911 at the end of the financial crisis in May 2013, the number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands declined and then stabilized until the coronavirus pandemic. During the coronavirus crisis, government support measures kept companies afloat, and the number of bankruptcies dropped to a record low of 109 in August 2021. That number has been rising continuously since May 2022.