In the first half of 2022, the number of company closures was the highest since the first measurement moment in 2007. This is evident from figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Thursday. In the first six months of this year, 76,000 companies were closed, compared with 52,000 in the same period in 2021. In almost 85 percent of the cases this year, just like the year before, it concerned a closed one-man business.
There are two possible explanations for the increase, says CBS economic spokesman Marjolijn Jaarsma. The government support offered during the corona measures ended this year. And at the beginning of the year there was still a lockdown in place – that must have discouraged people, she thinks. “For many entrepreneurs, enough was enough, they did not want to go further into debt.” If entrepreneurs choose to liquidate their business, it means they avoid bankruptcy and voluntarily choose to close.
It was mainly web shops that stopped their activities: 6,785 in the first half of 2022, compared to just over 4,000 the year before. Most of the stores that ceased to exist sold clothing and home and garden items online. In addition, more than five thousand management consultancy firms and more than three thousand financial holding companies have been closed down. The share of bankruptcies of the total number of closed companies (961 of the total) increased slightly in the first six months of 2022 compared to the previous year, but remains low.
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