In December 2020, 40 fewer companies were declared bankrupt than in November, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). With the December figure, the figure for the entire year is also known. In 2020, 2,703 companies were declared bankrupt. That is the lowest number of bankruptcies in 20 years.

The number of bankrupt cleaning companies did increase in December, from just 1 bankruptcy in November to 6 in December. This involved 2 sole proprietorships and 4 companies or institutions. This brings the total number of bankrupt cleaning companies in 2020 to 48, compared to 49 in 2019.

The CBS reports that the drop in the number of bankruptcies during the coronavirus period cannot be separated from government emergency support.

>> Also read: Number of bankruptcies in cleaning continues to decline: 49 cleaning companies bankrupt in 2019

Sharpest drop in retail bankruptcies

In most sectors, the number of bankruptcies decreased. In absolute terms, the largest decrease in the number of bankruptcies was seen in retail, which fell from 730 in 2019 to 581 in 2020, a drop of 149. The hospitality sector, however, experienced the sharpest increase, with 39 bankruptcies. Accommodation services (including hotels) saw an increase of 25 bankruptcies, and food and beverage establishments (including restaurants and cafés) saw an increase of 14. A relatively large number of bankruptcies were declared in the hospitality sector, particularly in the second quarter of 2020.

In almost all provinces, fewer companies are going bankrupt

In ten out of twelve provinces, fewer companies were declared bankrupt in 2020 than in 2019. The largest decrease was in South Holland with 101 companies (16 per cent). Relatively speaking, the largest decrease was in Utrecht, at 33 per cent. Zeeland, on the other hand, had the largest increase, both in absolute terms (19) and relatively (39.6 per cent). The provinces of South Holland, North Brabant and North Holland have the most companies.