Bankruptcies break records again, increase of 124% in the province of Antwerp
In the first half of 2022, 5,139 bankruptcies were declared throughout Belgium. This is an increase of 56.4 percent compared to the first half of last year, trade information firm Graydon has calculated. The increase in the province of Antwerp (+124%) is particularly spectacular.
Marnix Int PanisSource: Made in
The many measures taken during the corona crisis to protect companies are measures in the past. Graydon has been in this regard for some time before a general bankruptcy malaise.
Phenomenal increase
The increase was greatest in Flanders in the past six months: +72.4 percent to 2,850 pronounced bankruptcies. In Brussels, the number of bankruptcies rose by 67.8 percent to 1,027 and in Wallonia the increase was a lot smaller than seniors in the country. This concerns 1,110 bankruptcies after an increase of 18.1 percent.
In the province of Antwerp, the increase is “downright phenomenal”, with a rise of 124 percent to a record figure of 1,165 in the first half of the year. And that’s a writing on the wall for the rest of the country, Graydon says. “Historically, the province of Antwerp once again proved to be the forerunner with regard to bankruptcy evolutions.”
In the first half, construction companies in particular suffered with 1,011 bankruptcies, followed by the hospitality industry (845). In the transport sector, 328 bankruptcies were met, breaking the record set in 2013.
Ninth month in a row
Only in June k 1,047 Belgian companies on delippen, or 62.2 percent more than twelve months earlier. This is the ninth month in a row with an expansion. “The increase in the month of June is the strength so far”, Graydon noted. “Where we still report limited growth in October, we see the increase month after month – after April 2022 – strengthened.”
In Flanders, the increase was strongest in the sixth month of the year. This is an increase of 89 percent to 618. Antwerp, East Flanders and Limburg record monthly records. In June, a total of 1,481 jobs were at risk after a bankruptcy ruling, 737 of which were in Flanders.