About a third more companies went bankrupt in October compared to a year earlier

The number of businesses declared bankrupt decreased slightly in October compared to the previous month, but business bankruptcies are still rising on an annual basis, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Some 292 companies, institutions and sole proprietorships were declared bankrupt last month, a third more than in October 2022, once the data was corrected to account for the date of court proceedings. So far this year, there have been about a 60 percent increase in bankruptcies compared to the first ten months of 2022.

A total of 73 more companies went bust last month compared to a year earlier, when 219 firms were declared bankrupt. "Not corrected for court hearing dates, 332 companies and institutions (including sole proprietorships) were declared bankrupt in October. Of all industries, trade had the largest number of bankruptcies, namely 63. That is 43 percent more than in September," the CBS stated in its report.

A total of 62 construction companies also went bankrupt in October, as well as 38 financial firms, and 38 providers of specialist business services. Another 29 businesses declared bankrupt were industrial companies, reaching a new peak. Additionally, 25 were hospitality firms, including restaurants, bars and cafes, a figure which was relatively stable compared to September.

The highest number of monthly bankruptcies peaked at 911 in May 2013, but that moment ushered in four years of consistent declines that continued through August 2017. At that point, bankruptcies remained relatively flat until midway through 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. "After that, the number of bankruptcies decreased further and reached a record low of 109 in August 2021. From May 2022, the number of bankruptcies was continuously higher than in the same month a year earlier."

The CBS did not offer analysis to determine what role the government's coronavirus support measures played in keeping bankruptcies so low. However, many more coronavirus support loans were due to be repaid this year, possibly driving the increase in bankruptcies that has made up the trend for the past year.

When adjusted for court date, the number of bankruptcies per month shows considerable fluctuation, the CBS said. "Declines and increases follow each other in rapid succession."