Last year the number of company bankruptcies increased considerably again and we can no longer talk about recovery after the covid era.
According to data from the Alares firm, 57,729 procedures were carried out (guards, adjustments and settlements), an annual increase of 35.8%.
The most important players are not spared: 171 companies with at least 100 employees went bankrupt in 2023, 80% more than in 2022.
But it is the smallest companies that have suffered the most: 4,319 companies with 10 to 49 employees failed in 2023 (+43%), while, with more than 52,000 open procedures, the VSEs concentrate the majority (92%).
Dangerous cocktail
The fourth quarter of 2023 was particularly bad, with 16,820 companies in default (+37.2% in one year).
“The bad figure for the last quarter of the year cannot be explained solely by the return of a more regular collection action by the URSSAF after a long period of accommodation (…) Activity at half-mast, inflation level still high , still high interest rates, the fall in consumption, form a dangerous cocktail for companies with depleted cash flow after a succession of crises”, continues Thierry Millon.
In detail, with 1,529 sentences handed down in 2023 (+35.9%), the number of safeguarding procedures returned to the 2015 level “but still represents less than 3% of total procedures.”
Judicial recovery proceedings are increasing more rapidly with 15,115 sentences handed down, or 49.2% more in one year.
But it is judicial liquidations that continue to be, by far, the most numerous, with 41,085 open procedures (+31.4%) in 2023 and 11,567 (+30%) during the fourth quarter.
“The increase in defaults by large companies threatens more jobs: 243,000 jobs were threatened in 2023, almost 100,000 more in one year,” Altares emphasizes.
Major difficulties in construction.
By sector, construction represents 24% of bankruptcies and already has more than 14,000 defects, of which almost 11,000 in construction activity alone (+40.7% in one year).
Trade exceeds 12,400 defects (+31.76%), in the clothing retail trade, the results are especially negative with 1,130 procedures, an annual jump of 51.3%.
Many brands passed through the courts throughout the year: Shades, naf naf, France GapAndrew, Saint Marina, Kaporal, Don’t call me Jennyfer, Burton of London, Pimkie, Just more of the same, Sergeant major…
In restaurants, 6,449 establishments failed with a decreasing annual rate: +45% compared to +50% in 2022. The trend is even lower than the general average for traditional restaurants (+35.3%).
Industry with just under 4,000 defects seems to be holding up a little better (+29.2%), as does transportation (+30.7% to 2,300). “However, the trend is less favorable for the transport of goods by road, which recorded more than 1,500 failures (+39.7%) and the situation deteriorated significantly at the end of the year,” underlines Altares.
What should we expect for 2024? Looking ahead to the fourth quarter and the global context, the company evokes “a delicate trajectory.”
Source: BFM TV
