KVK Trend Report Q3 2024: Lowest growth in the number of businesses in the past 10 years
Still more starters than stoppers
- 17 October 2024
- Edited 28 October 2024
- 2 min
The number of new establishments to register with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce KVK continued to fall in the third quarter of 2024. The number of starters has now been falling for 5 quarters in a row. For this, we compare it to the same quarter a year earlier. The number of establishments stopping continues to rise. With a 2.6% increase in the number of registered businesses, KVK is seeing the lowest growth rate in the past 10 years.
Number of businesses
A total of 2,5814,422 establishments were registered in the Business Register at the end of Q3. On balance, the number of establishments is still increasing. However, with an increase of 2.6% compared to the third quarter last year, it is the lowest rate of growth in the past 10 years.
Number of bankruptcies up 38%
The number of starters stood at 59,105 in Q3 2024, down 7.8% from the same quarter last year, when there were 64,071. The number of stoppers increased by 15% (34,087 in Q3 2024) and the number of bankruptcies rose by 38% (1,151 in Q3 2024).
At the end of Q3, 2,5814,422 businesses were listed in the Business Register. Overall, the number of businesses is still increasing, but with an increase of 2.6% compared to the third quarter last year, it is the lowest rate of growth in the past 10 years.
According to Joris Knoben, professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Tilburg University, there may be several explanations for this development. Knoben: “First of all, there are some new measures from the government, such as the bill Verduidelijking Beoordeling Arbeidsrelaties en Rechtsvermoeden (Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (Clarification) VBAR) and compulsory disability insurance (AOV) for self-employed people. The announcements of such measures make people more reluctant to start as entrepreneurs.”
“Also, a lot of businesses have started up in recent years. At some point, the business landscape is saturated. The Dutch economy then reaches the limit of how much room there is for (new) companies. After a period with many new start-ups, the point arrives where some of these companies fail or are taken over. You then see companies that are doing well continue to grow. They squeeze out or take over others. It seems that the Dutch economy is entering such a consolidation phase. The pattern of fewer start-ups and more stoppers and bankruptcies fits this perfectly.”
Personal services
One of the most popular sectors in which to start a business is personal services, which includes, for example, hairdressers, beauty salons, and nail salons. At the same time, with a 23% increase compared to Q3 last year, there are also many stoppers in this sector. “One reason for this may be that personal services is a sector in which it is relatively easy to experiment,” explains Knoben. “New businesses and business models are fairly easy to start up to see if it is sufficiently successful. This ensures that within this sector, many businesses also exit again and so there is a lot of movement.’
Number of stoppers personal services sector
One of the most popular sectors in which to start a business is personal services, which includes, for example, hairdressers, beauty salons, and nail salons.
At the same time, with an increase of 23% compared to Q3 last year, there are also many stoppers in the sector.
View the full trend (in Dutch).
KVK helps starters and stoppers
Starting a business starts with KVK. To help starters prepare, the KVK Startersdag will take place on 16 November. Advisers from KVK and our partner organisations – such as the Netherlands Tax Administration and Qredits - will be present to inspire and inform entrepreneurs. More information: KVK Startersdag.
There are several steps to follow when ending a business. For an entrepreneur, stopping is more than just deregistering the company with KVK. There is an extensive checklist on the KVK website to guide entrepreneurs through this process: Ending your business: a checklist.