More Construction Firms Set Up Despite the Crisis

The previous momentum in the construction industry still keeps the number of start-ups in the sector high. In March 2020, nearly 80% more businesses were launched in the sector than were closed. It was expected that the effect of the coronavirus would not be immediately apparent in the sector, but the March values refute all previous expectations, a report by the Hungarian corporate information company Opten points out.

The study says the construction industry has always behaved unusually compared to other sectors, but the extremely high number of company start-ups in March even sets the sector apart from other sectors compared to previous years. Although, the 529 company foundations published in one month is not a record, it is 9% higher than the average monthly company formation in 2019, which can also be considered a high base.

Overall, the monthly number of start-ups is in line with the previous trend, but under the present circumstances, keeping up with the trend is a surprise. This is presumably largely due to the fact that entrepreneurs did not want to stop the setting-up processes that had started earlier, as most of the start-up costs had been paid and they are beyond the administrative processes.

In contrast, only 297 company dissolutions were published in the sector in one month, which is much lower than in previous months. Strange as it may seem, this presumably already shows the impact of the epidemic. The current crisis also differs from the previous ones in that administrative processes are also slowing down. This is especially true for non-critical administrative steps. From this point of view, however, it is partly understandable that the number of company dissolutions is decreasing, as such dissolutions are preceded by winding-up procedures that require complex administration.