Wholesale and retail trade top insolvencies in 2020

Wholesale and retail trade top insolvencies in 2020

The overall insolvency rate for 2020 was down 10.7% compared to 2019, totalling 570 insolvencies for the year. There were 90 insolvencies in the Wholesale/retail/Trade sector. The overall decrease in insolvencies is attributed to the prolonged closure of courts during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the suspension of activities for many businesses.

The largest numbers of insolvencies were recorded in the month of February 2020 , with a total of 76 insolvencies; this was an increase of 69% compared to February 2019. April proved to be the least insolvent month: a total of 19 insolvencies were recorded, down 55% on 2019.

The most insolvent sector during the year was wholesale, retail and trade (90), down 12% on 2019.

Wholesale was followed by legal, accounting and business (79, – 29%), hotels and restaurants (74, +1%), and construction (62, -15%).

There was an average of 48 companies with an insolvency notice per month in 2020 (compared to 51 per month in 2019).