Bankruptcies in Belgium down 25%

In the first four months of 2014, the number of companies that filed for bankruptcy was a quarter less than in the same period in 2013. The hospitality industry was especially spared compared to last year, according to numbers from commercial information specialist Graydon Belgium.

There were 673 bankruptcies in the Brussels-Capital Region so far this year, compared to 896 in 2013. Flanders (-2%) and Wallonia (-6%) also saw fewer companies close the books.

The hospitality industry is doing remarkably better this year, with 36 percent fewer bankruptcies. This year has also seen less bankruptcies in Belgium’s building (-22%), transport (-59%) and business (-36%) sectors.

"There seems to be an end to the record highs of the crisis," said Graydon. "The economy is slowly starting to recover."