1189 bankruptcies and 104 liquidations in 2024
According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice/STATEC, 367 businesses were declared bankrupt and 22 were wound up in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Bankruptcies
A 30% increase in bankruptcies in 2024 compared with 2023
In 2024, 1,189 bankruptcies were declared, an increase of almost 30% compared with 2023 (919 bankruptcies). Compared with 2023, the number of bankruptcies of businesses with salaried employees (>0) rose by more than 26%, while the number of bankruptcies of businesses with more than 10 employees at the time of their bankruptcy even exploded (+40%).
There were contrasting trends in the various business sectors (excluding holding companies and investment funds). The biggest increases in the number of bankruptcies in 2024 will be seen in education, health and other activities (+65%), information and communication (+50%), and real estate (+49%). On the other hand, the number of bankruptcies in transport and warehousing has fallen by 25%, while it remains more or less stable in trade.
bankruptcies led to 3,316 job losses in paid employment in 2024
The 3,316 salaried job losses caused by bankruptcies in 2024 are up sharply on 2023 (+24%), even though the data are still provisional, as salaried employment data are not complete for the last quarter of 2024. The sectors most affected by the loss of salaried jobs in 2024 are construction, hospitality and trade (with 39%, 17% and 14% of total losses respectively).
In terms of absolute numbers, holding companies and investment funds (143) were the most likely to declare bankruptcy in 2024, followed by construction companies (42).
Graph 1: Number of bankruptcies per month since January 2018
Liquidations
80% fewer liquidations than in 2023
The Luxembourg courts ordered the liquidation of 104 companies in 2024, a fall of 80% compared with 2023 (520). In fact, it was from the second quarter of 2023 onwards that we saw a sharp fall in the number of judicial liquidations. As in previous years, the largest number of companies liquidated in 2024 were holding companies and investment funds (46%).
Graph 2: Number of liquidations per month since January 2018
All these themes can be consulted in STATEC's ‘Bankruptcies and Liquidations’ Dashboard, published on 16 January 2025. The statistics on bankruptcies are based on the record of judicial decisions, taken from the Trade Register and dating from 13 January 2025 for the most recent data.
The number of bankruptcies is calculated as the sum of ‘openings’ or ‘reopenings’ minus the bankruptcies reported from the judicial procedure ‘judgments and rulings declaring bankruptcy’. These figures are provisional.
Contact
Bureau de presse/Press office | +352 247-84219 | info@statec.etat.lu
This publication was produced by Laurent Bley.
STATEC would like to thank all the contributors to this publication.
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