Quiet reorganization on the entrepreneurial map – the number of partnerships decreased further in April

The number of partnerships continues to decline

The domestic entrepreneurial landscape did not show any recovery in April either; according to OPTEN data, the number of partnerships has been decreasing for nineteen months in a row. The trend is not surprising, since the KSH’s first-quarter GDP data also show stagnation and a smaller decrease, meaning that the economic environment is not encouraging the desire to start a business. The number of active partnerships still exceeds five hundred thousand, but if the pace does not change, it could fall below half a million by May or June. Their number decreased by less than 1,000 in April and by more than 4,000 since the beginning of the year, primarily in the trade and construction sectors.

Change of form or new entrants?

In parallel, there is a reorganisation among business forms, while the number of partnerships is decreasing, the number of sole proprietors is dynamically expanding. By the end of March, nearly 12,500 new sole proprietorships had appeared, mainly in the service sector. The choice is often not a simple “switch” from the partnership form, but rather new players appear on the market. Sole proprietorships offer cheaper sustainability and simpler administration, which is a serious advantage in the current cost-sensitive economic environment, even if this entails greater personal responsibility.

The trend is also due to the adaptation of economic actors; it is much easier to enter the services sector with less capital, while industrial and investment-intensive sectors still prefer the partnership form. It is interesting to note that, for example, in the trade and construction industries, the increase in the number of sole proprietors closely followed the decrease in partnerships, which may partly indicate direct restructuring.

Entrepreneurial dynamics burning on a savings flame

The establishment of new partnerships remained well below 2,000 in April, barely exceeding 1.7 thousand, which represents a decrease of over 13% compared to March, and still lags behind the same period last year. The decline mostly affects the commercial and professional, technical sectors, which are characterized by project-based operations and are more sensitive to changes in market prospects.

The number of closures also shows a downward trend, reaching less than 2.7 thousand in April, which is a decrease of around 8% compared to the same period last year. However, this does not necessarily indicate stabilization, in many cases there are protracted downsizings or unsettled terminations in the background, in which the construction industry was once again at the forefront.

The number of new company court proceedings decreased slightly in April, but a total of more than 15 thousand have been initiated since the beginning of the year. A third of the proceedings end in liquidation, while the others often exit the market with an unsettled financial situation and debts. The riskiest sector is still the construction industry, while the most stable is education, with the majority of terminations in the latter taking place regularly.

“Overall, the April data indicate a gradual but definite structural transformation in the domestic entrepreneurial sphere. Economic actors are increasingly consciously adapting to operating costs, financing challenges and the uncertain economic environment. The question is whether the second quarter of 2025 will bring about a turnaround, or whether we are facing a more permanent structural change.” – said Csaba Alföldi, OPTEN’s company information expert.