In the past month of March, 973 bankruptcies were declared in Belgium. Compared to the same month last year, this is an increase of 50.4 percent. This is reported by the trade information office Graydon. March seems to herald an important turning point in the evolution of bankruptcies, now that companies that ran into difficulties during the corona crisis are also being targeted.
“The increase is a direct result of the resumption of the summons for bankruptcy within specific provinces by the specific government bodies, the tax authorities in particular,” says Graydon. “It is important to note that corporate courts now also include subpoenas related to newer files; they are no longer limited to those files that were pending before the first lockdown.”
However, because the recovery is still incomplete and geographically not yet fully developed, Graydon expects a sharp evolution in the bankruptcies in the coming months. After all, some authorities still appear to be reluctant at the moment and many companies still make use of deferment of payment granted by the same administrations.
Graydon adds that our corporate fabric is also fully confronted with new shocks, such as the accelerating inflation, the associated rising wage costs, supply problems and the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This too cannot but have consequences in the long run, it says.
The increase in bankruptcies in March mainly occurred in the Flemish (+72.2 percent to 582 cases) and the Brussels region (+95.3 percent to 207), but not (yet) in the Walloon region (-11 .7 percent to 173).
Region
In the Flemish region, the province of Antwerp took the crown. There was an increase of 128.7 percent to 231 bankruptcies. That is the highest volume of bankruptcies for the month of March in that province in seven years. Within the province of East Flanders there was also a sharp increase of 51.8 percent to 126 cases. In West Flanders, an increase was noted by 94.4 percent to 105 bankruptcies. Here Graydon measures the highest volume ever for a March month.
In the Walloon region, Graydon noted a decrease in the number of bankruptcy decisions within the province of Walloon Brabant from 47 cases in March 2021 to 23 cases in March 2022 (-51 percent). “We have to go back to March 2013 to find an equally low number of bankruptcies,” it sounds. In Hainaut, there was a decrease of 16.1 percent with 47 bankruptcies in March 2022. This is the lowest number of bankruptcies of the past decade during a March. “With 58 cases (-14.7 percent), we also measure the lowest figure in the past decade within the province of Liège. We do measure increases within the province of Luxembourg and the province of Namur,” says Graydon.
In the first quarter of this year, there were 2,439 bankruptcies (+48.5 percent). Bankruptcies increased in particular in the hospitality industry, the construction industry and services to companies. The number of bankruptcies even peaked in the transport sector. In the first quarter of this year, the transport sector saw 158 insolvencies, an increase of 88.1 percent and the highest number of bankruptcies ever in a first quarter in the sector. NAJ/FUL/
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