In the Informa Business by Data report, Informa D&B says that “during the year 2023, 51,320 companies were created in Portugal, the highest record ever, exceeding 50 thousand for the first time”.

“The formation of companies shows a robust recovery since the drop seen in 2020, in the first year of the pandemic. Compared to 2022, the growth seen in 2023 is 4.7% (+2,302 company formations)”, reads a statement.

The highlight was the Transport, Construction and Accommodation and Catering sectors, which were responsible for “one-third of new companies created in 2023”, even though the growth in company formation was “across the vast majority of sectors”.

According to Informa D&B, in Transport, the growth in the formation of companies was due to the occasional transport of passengers in light vehicles, which was “the activity that saw the greatest increase in the number of incorporations in 2023”.

“Since the entry into force of the TVDE legal regime in 2018, this activity has been leading the growth of company incorporations in Portugal, reaching one of the highest values in 2019 (3,239 company incorporations) and now in 2023 a new maximum (4,791 company formations)”, indicates Informa D&B.

Construction also maintained the growth trend that has been observed since 2020 and, in 2023, recorded “the highest value of constructions in the last 10 years”, with emphasis on the Construction of buildings (residential and non-residential).

In Accommodation and Catering, there was a 10% growth compared to 2022, with this sector showing one of the biggest “increases in business creation, particularly in traditional restaurants”.

Declines

Real Estate Activities, Information and Communication Technologies and Industry were among the sectors that declined in the creation of companies in 2023, with declines of 17%, 2% and 3%, respectively.

“Real estate and ICT activities reverse the growth trend of recent years. As for Industries, responsible for the largest volume of business and exports in the business sector, the decline in 2023 reinforces a downward trend seen in the last decade”, adds Informa D&B.

Last year, 13,362 companies closed, which corresponds to a drop of 9% compared to the previous year's figures, data that, according to Informa D&B, despite being provisional, shows that, analysing the trend of recent months, “it expects company closures in 2023 to exceed those in 2022, marking the second consecutive year of increase in this indicator”.

Insolvencies were also on the rise, which increased by 18% compared to 2022, with 1,917 new processes, a growth that, according to Informa D&B, “follows 2 years with abnormally low values in this indicator and which reflected the effect of many of the support measures initiated during the pandemic period”.

“Still, the number of insolvency processes is 13% below 2019, the last year before the pandemic”, highlights Informa D&B, highlighting that the “increase in this indicator was transversal to almost all sectors of activity, with the exception of Accommodation and restaurants, Agriculture and other natural resources and Energy and environment, which registered fewer insolvency processes than in 2023”.

The Industries sector was the one that most increased the number of insolvency processes in 2023 (+148 insolvency processes; +47%), “an increase that represents more than half of the total increase”, highlights Informa D&B.