2854 Spanish companies announce bankruptcy in Q1 2013

Official statistics showed here Wednesday that some 2,854 Spanish companies announced bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2013 - an increase of 22.8 percent from last year's numbers. The Spanish National Statistics Institute said that this was the largest number of bankrupt companies within the same period since 2004, noting that this was all due to the deep recession sweeping the Spanish economic spectrum. From every four companies announcing bankruptcy within the first quarter of 2013, one would be involved in construction, revealed the institute, adding that 17.1 percent of bankrupt companies were involved in commercial activities while 16.3 percent were active within the industrial sector. Around 24.8 percent of the companies announcing bankruptcy from the beginning of 2013 till last March were in business for over a period of 20 years while 12.4 percent of companies were in business for a period of four years, said the institute. Some 74 percent of bankrupt companies had less than 20 employees, the Institute revealed, adding that some 57.8 percent of bankrupt companies were located in Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia, and Balearic Islands.