There was a notable increase in the total number of bankruptcies in Sweden from week 13 (23/3-29/3) and onwards. This negative trend persisted for several months but slowed down during the summer. For October 2020 we have noted a decrease of 31,7% in number of bankruptcies compared to 2019, and when looking at YTD 2020/2019 then the levels are fairly similar.

Larger companies with a revenue of more than SEK 25 million were initially hit to a greater extent, with an increase in bankruptcies of 51% for weeks 13-24, and subsequently affecting a relatively larger number of employees. This trend has also slowed down apart from companies with a turnover between 25-50 million SEK, where we see a increase of 50% YTD increase from 2019 to 2020.

So far we have seen no big changes in payment remarks.  

Industries 

Taxi  In the taxi branch we can see a large increase in the number of bankruptcies compared to the previous year. From 38 to 67 for weeks 13-35(+76%) and there is no slowing down regarding bankruptcies in this segment during August and September. Since the number of impacted employees per company is quite small, it indicates that the affected taxi companies are fairly small.

Retail Clothing  Compared to the same period (week 13-35) last year the number of bankruptcies within the Retail Clothing sector has soared. It has moved from 38(2019) to 66 (2020) which is an increase of +74%. During August and September, this sector hasn’t seen the same increase during the summer as it had during the spring. The number of affected employees has remained the same, indicating that larger businesses are having greater problems.

 
Hospitality, Food & Beverages  This is a branch that initially was severely impacted by the Coronavirus, with a dramatic increase in the number of employees affected. The trend broke during the summer and a decrease for August and September has been noted, with 59 bankruptcies in 2020 compared to 96 during the same period 2019.  

PRESS

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