Zurich, 2nd July 2020 – 10,539 new businesses were set up in the 2nd quarter of 2020, which represents a decline of 5.3% compared with the previous year. Ticino and Geneva suffered declines of 22% and 21% respectively, but a record total of 4486 company start-ups were also reported in June.
CRIF AG has looked at how many new businesses were established in the 2nd quarter and how many companies went out of business. All in all, 11,413 companies were set up in Switzerland during this time. This is 5.3% fewer compared with the 2nd quarter of the previous year. 7,065 companies were also deleted from the Commercial Register during the same period. This represents 547 fewer deletions than in the same period of the previous year. After a drastic reduction in the number of companies being set up in some places in April and May, June saw a record total of 4,486 start-ups. This represents a growth of 24% compared with June 2019, when 3,616 new businesses were established.
Most of the new company entries were registered in the Cantons of Zurich (1,951), Bern (1,030) and Vaud (937). On the other hand, the steepest fall was reported by Ticino, with 22.3% fewer business start-ups, and by the French-speaking Swiss Cantons of Geneva (-21.2%), Vaud (-18.3%) and Neuchâtel (15.3%). This is another consequence of the corona crisis, as these areas were affected more badly by the virus.
The portfolio of existing companies grew by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter (this figure was still around 0.7% in the 1st quarter). The highest growth was reported by the Cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Uri, at 0.9%. The Cantons of Schaffhausen, Glarus, Ticino and Obwalden all either reported no growth at all, or even a slightly negative growth.
A look at the individual sectors reveals that start-ups were most frequent in the retail trade (872), followed by the construction sector (830) and the management consultancy sector (773), though the management consultancy sector and the construction sector did report a fall compared with the 2nd quarter of 2019.
The largest number of company liquidations was experienced in the construction sector (635), followed by the retail trade (634) and the wholesale trade (585). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, however, the company liquidations were fewer, except in the financial sector.
About the survey process
All companies that were newly entered in the Commercial Register between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2020 as well as all companies that were deleted from the Commercial Register during this period were taken into account. For example, a company can be deleted by default, when the bankruptcy proceedings are closed, at the end of the liquidation period, then in the case of mergers or in the case of company tasks due to the lack of succession regulation.
About CRIF Ltd
CRIF Ltd is Switzerland’s leading provider of information services for businesses and private individuals. The company offers solutions for identification, credit screening and fraud prevention, for credit risk and address management and for digitalisation and predictive analytics projects on behalf of businesses and financial institutions. CRIF AG is part of the CRIF credit refence agency group, which operates globally and is based in Bologna, Italy. This group now employs 4,700 experts, incorporates 70 companies and is active in over 30 countries on four continents
The full analysis can be requested from presse.ch@crif.com.
Press contact:
CRIF AG, Heidi Hug
079 251 46 17
Companies: New start-ups, liquidations and net growth
n the 2nd quarter of 2020, there were fewer company liquidations than in the same period of the previous year. As a result of the low number of new start-ups, the figure for net growth is also slightly lower for 2020.
Companies: Monthly comparison of start-ups, liquidations and net growth
Because the number of new start-ups plummeted in April as a result of the lockdown, June saw a record number of 4486 new companies. This represented a growth of 24% compared with June 2019.
Net growth in the 2nd quater of 2020, by Canton
During the second quarter, there was a net growth of 0.5% in the portfolio of companies in Switzerland. In the 1st quarter, this growth was still at a level of 0.7%. The highest level of net growth was seen in the Cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Uri, at 0.9%. The Cantons of Schaffhausen, Glarus, Ticino und Obwalden reported either zero growth or a slightly negative level of growth.
New start-ups by Canton, April to June
The highest number of new start-ups was reported by the Cantons of Zurich (1,951), Bern (1,030) and Vaud (937). On the other hand, the sharpest falls were reported by Ticino, with 22.3% fewer new start-ups, and the western Swiss Cantons of Geneva (-21.2%), Vaud (-18.3%) and Neuchâtel (15.3%). This is another result of the corona crisis, which affected these areas more acutely.
Liquidations by Canton. April to June
Fewer business liquidations were reported in the 2nd quarter of 2020 than in the same quarter of the previous year. This was equivalent a reduction of 7.2 %.
New start-ups by sector (NOGA), April to Junes
The highest number of start-ups was in the retail trade (872), in the construction sector (830) and in the management consultancy sector (773), though the management consultancy sector and the construction sector reported a reduction in comparison with the 2nd quarter of 2019.
Liquidations by sector (NOGA), April to June
The largest number of liquidations was experienced by the construction sector (635), the retail trade (634) and the wholesale trade (585). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, there were fewer company liquidations in these sectors, except in the financial sector.
Source: Crif AG
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