The number of bankrupt debtors increased by as much as 67 percent in three months

The number of insolvent debtors in the first quarter of this year was 4,895, which is an increase of 67.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and a decrease of 11.7 percent compared to the previous quarter, according to data from the Bankruptcy Procedure Statistics. , which was released this Friday by The college of registrars.

By type of tender, 4,738 volunteers, which is 196.6% more than in the first quarter of 2022; consecutive reached 486, 66% less, and the required 31, 138.5% more than in the first quarter of 2022.

As the registrars explain in their report, despite the lifting of bankruptcy moratoriums established by successive decrees during 2020 and 2021, it appears that in absolute terms the number of required bankruptcies has remained very low since last year.

By type of procedure, tenders without masses (which replace the previous express tenders) increased by 234%, while ordinary procedures decreased by 23.6%. For the first time, since its entry into force on January 1, 11 openings of special procedures for micro-enterprises were recorded.

By legal nature and scope of business

Of the 4,895 debtors for whom bankruptcy was opened in the first quarter, 912 are legal entities and 3,983 are natural persons, which represents 18.6 percent and 81.4 percent of the total number of debtors.

For comparison, the number of insolvent legal entities decreased by 18.9% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.

According to the legal form, 89.8% of insolvent companies are limited liability companies. 36.6% of companies in bankruptcy are in the lowest business scope (up to 250,000 euros), and only 8.2% exceed 2 million euros per year.

By economic activity

According to the study, 25% of companies declared bankrupt have trade as their main economic activity15% Construction and 13.8% Manufacturing.

As for the number of employees, 44.2% of the total number of companies declared bankrupt have less than six employees. And among them 18% have no employees.

On the other hand, 24.3 percent of the total number of companies declared bankrupt in the first quarter are 20 years old or older, while 47.8 percent are eight years old or less.

The autonomous communities with the highest number of insolvent debtors in the first quarter of 2023 are Catalonia (1,313), Comunidad Valenciana (773), Andalucía (706) and Madrid (665), where seven out of ten debtors who are insolvent are concentrated.