By the end of August, 32,999 new companies had been established in Portugal, marking a 1.3% increase compared to the same period last year, according to a statement by Informa D&B.
The sectors that saw the most significant growth in new company formations include real estate activities, with a 21% rise (749 more new companies), construction (+11%, equivalent to 469 formations), business services (+4.3%, 255 more formations), and agriculture and other natural resources (+21%, 223 more formations).
Conversely, the sectors that experienced the largest declines in new company formations compared to the same period last year include transport, with a 23% decrease (778 fewer formations), retail (-10%, 332 fewer formations), particularly in the food and automotive sectors, as well as “the general services sector (-4.0%, 214 fewer formations), notably in the areas of ‘health, sports, and wellness,'” the report adds.
Regarding company closures, the first eight months of the year saw 1,310 companies shutting down, a 7.3% decrease year-on-year (103 fewer insolvencies).
In terms of sectors, the decline “occurred in half of the activity sectors, but was especially concentrated in the industrial sector (-22%, 114 fewer insolvencies), particularly in the textile and fashion industries (-43%, 105 fewer insolvencies), which had seen successive increases over the past two years,” Informa D&B notes.
On the other hand, the largest increases were observed in business services, with a 9.9% rise in insolvencies (27 more), and in transport, with a 7% increase (20 more).
