The number of bankruptcies in the Dutch business sector was 10 percent lower in the second quarter of this year than in the same period a year earlier. This is the fifth quarter in a row that the number of bankruptcies has decreased.
The number of bankruptcies fell by ten percent in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year. This is the fifth quarter in a row that the number of bankruptcies has decreased. In the provinces of Flevoland and Utrecht, however, more companies went bankrupt. This is evident from research into bankruptcies in the Dutch business community by Dun & Bradstreet.
The total number of businesses that went bankrupt in the second quarter of 2011 is 1,562. This is 10 percent less than in the same quarter last year. In the month of April, a decrease of -8 percent was visible. In May, the number of bankruptcies rose by 38 percent. Jan Willem de Vries, managing director of Dun & Bradstreet: "The month of May broke with the downward trend. However, this is mainly due to an extra judgement day at the courts in May this year. In June this is compensated again and we actually see a strong decrease in the number of bankruptcies with -42 percent.' Over the entire quarter, the downward trend continues.
Hospitality exception
The decrease is visible in all sectors, except for the hospitality industry. Here, the number of bankruptcies actually rose by 12 percent. De Vries: 'We also saw an increase in this sector in the first quarter of 2011. Since the hotel and catering industry traditionally benefits from the summer period, a decrease is likely in the next quarter. In the construction sector, the decline continues apace (-25 percent). In the sectors transport (-4 percent) and trade (-5 percent) the decrease compared to Q2 last year was somewhat less than average.
Increases and decreases
In the provinces of Flevoland (+ 63 percent) and Utrecht (+ 13 percent), a substantial increase was visible. In Flevoland, too, the number of bankruptcies rose in the first quarter, against the downward national trend. As a result, Flevoland is the only province with more bankruptcies in the first six months of 2011 than in the same period last year. Utrecht, Noord-Holland and Drenthe also saw an increase in the second quarter. The decrease is largest in Gelderland (- 34 percent); Overijssel (- 30 percent) is also doing well. Below is an overview of developments by province in the second quarter, relative to 2010:
Flevoland +63%
Utrecht +13%
North Holland + 7%
Drenthe + 5%
Friesland – 6%
North Brabant - 8%
South Holland - 12%
Limburg – 13%
Zeeland – 19%
Groningen – 28%
Overijssel – 30%
Gelderland – 34%
