A total of 331 companies filed for bankruptcy in Denmark in November, the highest number in 13 years, according to a new report published by SMVdanmark on Monday.
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Since the summer "businesses have been hit hard by high inflation, soaring energy bills and, not least, fears about the future of the economy, which have sent consumers' appetite for buying into a tailspin," the SMVdanmark report stated.
Many businesses were already struggling financially due to high energy costs and backlogs from the COVID-19 pandemic, the report adds.
"Never in the history of statistics have we seen so many bankruptcies among businesses with employees. This means that the crisis is hitting real businesses with turnover and employees," said Lasse Lundqvist, a consultant at SMVdanmark.
Although bankruptcies are affecting all types of Danish businesses, the construction and retail industries have been particularly hard hit. More than half of the bankruptcies in November were in the construction sector.
"Unfortunately we will see even more bankruptcies in the coming months," said Lundqvist.
SMVdanmark is a Danish company that carries out studies to promote the economic transformation of small and medium-sized companies. Currently, it represents 18,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Denmark.