Bankruptcies on the rise across Sweden

Luleå Bankruptcies have increased by 13 per cent in Norrbotten this year, compared with the first nine months of last year. The average for the whole country is an increase of 32 per cent.

The negative trend has continued in September. 9 limited companies went bankrupt in Norrbotten in September, compared to 5 in the same month last year. In the country, 721 companies went bankrupt in September, compared with 616 last year. An increase of 17 per cent.

"The economic uncertainty continues to put pressure on Swedish companies, with rising bankruptcies among both large and small players. At the same time, unemployment is rising, many companies are being forced to lay off staff and investments in Swedish business are at historically low levels. Unfortunately, the autumn will be tough for many entrepreneurs, but we hope the recession will soon ease," says Henrik Jacobsson, CEO of the credit information company Creditsafe, which presents statistics from the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket).

The only region where bankruptcies have fallen this year is Värmland, where they fell by 5 per cent between January and September, compared with the same period last year. Bankruptcies also fell in September, from 13 last year to 10 this year.

The most high-profile bankruptcy concerns the clothing company Odd Molly in Stockholm with 55 employees.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com