Wholesale trade

NACE 46

Current registrations62,737

Starters, 12 months2,896

Employment (FTE)231,787

Median age14.9 years

In NACE division 46, 4.6 companies per 100 started in the past twelve months, against 7.5 nationally; that is lower than that of 72% of the 86 other NACE divisions. Comparison: as of 26-09-2026 05:30.

Key figures for NACE division 46

fiscal year 2025 · median over 24,419 filed annual accounts

Median solvency

43.7%

lower than 51% of 78 divisions

Median equity

€186,387

higher than 63% of 78 divisions

Median net result

€15,144

higher than 50% of 78 divisions

Annual accounts in sample

24,419

Bankruptcies

past five years

Bankruptcies (5y)

1,198

Historical share

1.91%

Nationally, 1.41% of current registrations have a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. This sector's historical share is higher than that of 72% of the 87 other NACE divisions. The median bankruptcy probability in NACE division 46 is 0.6%, against 0.5% nationally, over 39,695 scored companies. Comparison: as of 26-09-2026 05:30.

Regional split

by region · 50,998 of 62,737 enterprises with a registered office on file

Flanders 32,356 · 63.4%

Wallonia 12,153 · 23.8%

Brussels 5,109 · 10.0%

Unknown 1,380 · 2.7%

Recent bankruptcies in this sector

Date	Company
25-09-2026	West Coast Auction BE 0771.355.084
25-09-2026	MJ2 BEAUTY WORLD BE 0636.857.854
25-09-2026	S.V.H.-LIER BE 0880.858.978
24-09-2026	My Energie.org BE 0788.909.710
23-09-2026	Jes Groep BE 0563.894.355
23-09-2026	MD Recycling BE 0886.145.280
23-09-2026	BATI-MATI MATERIAUX BE 0783.348.838
23-09-2026	C.Solutions BE 0650.978.084

Geographic distribution

by province · based on the establishment address

West Flanders WVL 6,393

East Flanders OVL 6,502

Antwerp ANT 10,401

Flemish Brabant VLB 5,254

Limburg LIM 3,806

Brussels BRU 5,109

Hainaut HAI 3,698

Walloon Brabant WBR 2,043

Namur NAM 1,989

Liège LIE 3,658

Luxembourg LUX 765

fewer moremax 10,401

Public money in this sector

per register · legal entities with an enterprise number

Flemish subsidies €661.5m awarded 6,770 recipients · 2022 to 2025 · largest: Vlaams Gemeentefonds
Federal transfers 66.1m amount as published 26 recipients · 2023 to 2025 · largest: Subsidie aan de Centrale Dienst voor Sociale en Culturele Actie
Wallonia-Brussels Federation €30.7m paid 30 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Subventions forfaitaires dans le fondamental
EU budget €564.5m attributed share 91 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Information and communication technology
EU research €55.0m eu contribution 85 recipients · 2007 to 2027 · largest: Horizon 2020

Explore every recipient in this sector

How these figures are counted

Current enterprise registrations are counted through their registered main activities; establishment units are excluded. Counted in the KBO's NACE 2025 nomenclature, the one in which code 46 exists.

Share of currently registered companies with a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. Registered main activities in the selected classification can overlap. This retrospective share is not a future bankruptcy probability.

The comparison with the country and with the other NACE divisions comes from a nightly overview of every division, each counted in the nomenclature in which it exists. A standing such as "higher than 80%" counts the other divisions that have the figure. The bankruptcy probability is the median of our nightly score over the division's companies that have one; the count is stated.

The middle company of the sector, based on all filed annual accounts.