Fewer companies starting up in the Netherlands; More shutting down

In the third quarter of this year, over 64,000 businesses started up in the Netherlands. That is 3 percent less than the same quarter last year. In the same period, the number of businesses that shut down or went bankrupt grew by 6.9 percent to over 29,000, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) reported.

According to Erik Stam, professor of strategy, organization, and entrepreneurship at Utrecht University, the Dutch business dynamics are still in good shape, with many more starters than stoppers. “But the combination of an increase in the number of stoppers and bankruptcies and a decrease in starters is a clear trend break,” he said.

Looking at the number of start-ups per 1,000 businesses, the retail, IT, media, and personal services sectors got the most new companies in the third quarter. The number of shutdowns per 1,000 establishments was highest in the hospitality industry, construction, healthcare, and wholesale.

Location-wise, Groningen and Limburg were the only two provinces where more businesses opened than in the third quarter of 2022. All other provinces saw a decrease in startups per 10,000 inhabitants.

The number of bankruptcies is on the rise but remains low from a historical perspective. At 832 bankruptcies last quarter, the number was significantly higher than in Q3 of 2022 (441) but still below pre-pandemic levels.

The past quarter was the last quarter in which entrepreneurs could repay their coronavirus debts to the Tax Authority or make a payment arrangement. “There is insufficient data to see what the consequences of this are at the moment. However, we see the largest increase in the number of bankruptcies in the retail sector, a sector where corona support measures were also used extensively,” Stam said.