985 companies closed down in 2017, according to Creditreform's report published Wednesday, which is 4.88% less than in 2016, when 983 firms closed.

The services sector was the most affected, with 689 settlements, accounting for 73.69% of the total number of bankruptcies. This figure is slightly higher than in 2016 (+ 2.68%). Trade accounts for 20.69% of the break-ups, ie 196 companies (- 20.65% compared to 2016). The construction (5.24%) and production (0.11%) sectors closed the ranking.

Over two thirds of companies that went bankrupt last year (68.13%) were over five years old. Creditreform reported that the District Court of Diekirch recorded an increase in bankruptcies of almost 9.57%, while that of Luxembourg shows a decrease of 6.8%.

Public limited companies (SAs) were much more likely to be affected than in 2016 (+ 21.5%), with 373 cases identified by Creditreform. Meanwhile, private companies, known in Luxembourg as sàrl, which are the most represented at the Luxembourg level, still remain in the majority, with 536 bankruptcies. But this number is 17.28% lower than in 2016.

In its press release, the company's commercial information and debt collection notes finally that the decline in bankruptcies observed in Luxembourg follows a European trend. In Germany, for example, the number of companies that went out of business in 2017 decreased by 6.31% compared to 2016, the Trier region even registering a decline of 14.84%.