Swiss company bankruptcies rise significantly

There was a marked increase in company bankruptcies in Switzerland in the first 11 months of the year. The construction, catering and retail sectors in particular suffered.

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Company bankruptcies climbed by over 36% from January to November compared to the same period last year, according to the economic information service Crif on Monday. Specifically, 11,057 companies went bankrupt in the first 11 months of the year. This means that the pace of bankruptcies has accelerated since the end of September. After nine months, the increase had only been just under 20%.

According to Crif, most bankruptcies were in the construction industry (1,576 cases), followed by catering (1,090) and retail (774). One reason for the increase is a change in the law. Since January 1, 2025, the tax debts of companies in the commercial register can also be claimed in bankruptcy proceedings. Previously, it was only possible for the tax authorities to collect outstanding taxes by seizure.

+ Bankrupt debtors to get second chance in Switzerland

Start-ups also continue to increase

At the same time, the number of new company formations remains at a high level: by the end of November, a total of almost 49,000 new companies had been entered in the commercial register this year: an increase of 4.4% compared to the previous year.

By sector, the retail trade (3,924 start-ups), management consultancy (3,902) and the property sector (3,650) led the field of new start-ups.

The areas of information technology services (-19.7%), catering (-10.4%) and retail trade (7.3%) recorded a significant decline in the number of start-ups.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts