Wholesale trade
Filed accounts
NACE 46872 · financial year 2025 · 200 filed annual accounts| Per financial year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median solvency | 47.1% | 46.5% | 48.4% | 52.0% | 49.1% | 49.4% |
| Median net result | €32,583 | €123,872 | €140,105 | €38,900 | €38,553 | €37,815 |
Hold your customer's or competitor's figures against them in the Sector benchmark
Bankruptcies
Recent bankruptcies
| Date | Company |
|---|---|
| 23-10-2026 | Meiresonne, Marino
BE 0721.372.271 · sole trader · Lokeren |
| 09-10-2026 | Bonaugure
BE 0830.491.234 |
| 23-09-2026 | MD Recycling
BE 0886.145.280 |
| 16-09-2026 | S.P COMPANY
BE 0784.606.274 |
| 14-04-2026 | The Aluminium Recovery Company
BE 0419.096.517 |
| 16-02-2026 | Bogdanovic, Valentino
BE 0670.758.463 · sole trader · Antwerp |
| 23-12-2025 | Van Brabant, Rene
BE 0716.983.517 · sole trader · Mortsel |
| 01-07-2025 | Aamage Corporation
BE 0763.375.845 |
Spread across the country
by region and province · 261 of 407 enterprises with a registered office on file · a sole trader has no published seat- Flanders
- Wallonia
- Brussels
- Abroad
The balance sheets of division 46 on the map, by municipality and down to the address
Largest employers
NACE 46872 as first main activity · staff from the latest accounts- 1 DERICHEBOURG BelgiumCharleroi 129 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 2 Veolia Treatment & Recycling BESint-Gillis (bij-Brussel) 45.2 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 3 STEVENS RECYCLINGGenk 41.2 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 4 CASIER RECYCLINGDeerlijk 40.2 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 5 CVB RECYCLINGVilvoorde 27.9 FTEfinancial year 2025
Joint committees
from the latest accounts of 120 companies- 142.01 Recovery of raw materials 64
- 200 Auxiliary committee for white-collar workers 60
- 142.03 Recovery of raw materials 7
- 142 Recovery of raw materials 6
- 142.02 Recovery of raw materials 6
- 226 White-collar workers in international trade, transport and logistics 5
- 111 Metal, mechanical and electrical engineering 4
- 124 Construction 4
Show the 12 others
- 142.04 Recovery of raw materials 4
- 100 Auxiliary committee for blue-collar workers 3
- 140.03 Road transport and logistics for third parties 3
- 149.04 Metal trade 3
- 201 Independent retail 3
- 209 White-collar workers in metal manufacturing 3
- 121 Cleaning 2
- 109 Clothing and garment industry 1
- 140 Transport and logistics 1
- 140.04 Airport ground handling 1
- 149.02 Coachwork 1
- 215 White-collar workers in the clothing and garment industry 1
Source: the annual accounts at the National Bank. One filing can name more than one committee.
Division 46: Wholesale trade
Related activities
18 other activities| Activity | Registrations | Starters, 12 months | Bankruptcies, 12 months | FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale of construction materials, general range46831 | 1,767 | 43 | 12 | 11,696 |
| Wholesale of diamonds and other precious stones46861 | 1,214 | 34 | 15 | 920 |
| Wholesale of industrial chemicals46851 | 1,208 | 39 | 2 | 5,339 |
| Wholesale of timber46832 | 838 | 18 | 4 | 5,118 |
| Wholesale of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels and related products46810 | 826 | 44 | 5 | 2,871 |
| Wholesale trade46820 | 718 | 41 | 2 | 1,910 |
Show all 18 activities
| Activity | Registrations | Starters, 12 months | Bankruptcies, 12 months | FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale trade46841 | 496 | 12 | 2 | 3,268 |
| Wholesale trade46842 | 460 | 18 | 2 | 4,096 |
| Wholesale trade46869 | 421 | 16 | 1 | 1,477 |
| Wholesale trade46839 | 379 | 17 | 2 | 982 |
| Wholesale trade46833 | 231 | 9 | 0 | 925 |
| Wholesale trade46835 | 165 | 12 | 1 | 317 |
| Wholesale trade46852 | 163 | 8 | 0 | 308 |
| Wholesale trade46836 | 156 | 3 | 1 | 470 |
| Wholesale trade46879 | 124 | 15 | 1 | 126 |
| Wholesale trade46890 | 58 | 38 | 0 | 6 |
| Wholesale trade46834 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 101 |
| Wholesale trade46871 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Bankruptcies per year in division 46
| Per year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankruptcies | 803 | 710 | 738 | 687 | 722 | 486 | 417 | 583 | 541 | 625 | 634 | 425 |
| Jobs lost | 1,629 | 1,655 | 1,361 | 1,216 | 1,240 | 1,054 | 890 | 1,029 | 935 | 1,383 | 1,271 | 931 |
2026 through September. Every bankruptcy, also of companies that have since left the register. Source: Statbel (Directorate-General Statistics), NACE classification of 2008.
Staff cost per FTE in NACE division 46
9,639 employers| Size | Median | Middle half | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| fewer than 10 FTE | €60,500 | €47,700 to €78,600 | 6,072 |
| 10 to 49 FTE | €70,000 | €57,700 to €89,100 | 2,910 |
| 50 to 249 FTE | €84,000 | €67,400 to €119,200 | 558 |
| 250 FTE or more | €80,100 | €64,800 to €98,300 | 99 |
Employers with the highest staff cost per FTE in this division All sectors by staff cost In the Analysis workbench
Running bankruptcies in the sector
NACE division 46Measured nationally: Of 108,562 bankruptcies of legal entities across Belgium, 49% were closed within five years for insufficient assets and 28% after liquidation, 3% were withdrawn. After five years, 20% were still open. Half had ended after 26 months (a quarter after 15, three quarters after 51 months).
This counts companies with this main activity in the register on 6 November 2026. The outcome itself is not measured by sector. The activity of a company that leaves the register after its bankruptcy is too often not kept to compare closed cases fairly.
Foreign control in NACE division 46
45,472 registered companiesMain parent countries: Netherlands (206), Germany (128) and France (118).Show on the map by municipality
Subsidies in this sector
per register · legal entities with an enterprise number- Flemish subsidies €266.7m awarded
- Federal transfers 21.5m amount as published
- Wallonia-Brussels Federation €1.3m paid
- EU budget €531.5m attributed share
- EU research €52.9m EU contribution
Insights on Wholesale trade
Balance sheet and result. The median net result of €37,815 is above Belgium's €16,520. Return on equity of 5.4% is below Belgium's 15.9%. 5.0% of the annual accounts show negative equity, against 12.4% in Belgium.
Bankruptcies. In 12 months, 17.2 of 1,000 companies went bankrupt, against 6.2 in Belgium. That is more than in 95% of the 88 NACE divisions.
Inflow and structure. Half of the companies are younger than 23.4 years, against 8.1 years in Belgium. In 12 months, 3.9 of 100 companies started, against 8.9 in Belgium. That is fewer than in 79% of the 87 NACE divisions. Flanders holds 75.6% of the seats, against 64.7% in Belgium.
Staff and filing. 33.5% of the financial year 2024 accounts were filed late, against 38.4% in Belgium. The 5 largest employers hold 284 of the 899 FTE: 31.6%.
Direction. Median solvency rose from 47.1% in financial year 2020 to 49.4% in financial year 2025. The median net result rose from €32,583 in financial year 2020 to €37,815 in financial year 2025.
The comparison with Belgium as a whole and with the other divisions is as of 06-11-2026 05:30.
Method and sources
Every company registered today counts under its main activities in the KBO. Establishment units do not count. Staff counts once, under the employer's first main activity, from its latest accounts and only where it fits the staff costs. The count follows the NACE 2025 classification, the version in which code 46872 exists.
The bankruptcies over five years count only companies still registered today, because the activity of a company that left the register is not kept. So they are fewer than the bankruptcies of those years, and the figure is not a probability for the future. Over twelve months the count is nearly complete, because a bankrupt company stays registered while its bankruptcy runs. A company with more than one main activity counts in each of those sectors.
The comparison with Belgium as a whole and with the other NACE divisions rests on an overview of every division, counted again each night. Each division is counted in the version of the NACE classification in which it exists. A standing such as "more than in 80%" compares with the other divisions that have the figure. A division's bankruptcy probability is the median over its companies with a score. Belgium here counts the 1,276,581 companies with a main activity, because only those belong to a division. The other 698,987 registrations publish no activity.
Each median is the value of the middle company, computed over the annual accounts of financial year 2025, and is shown only from 30 accounts. A share (loss-making, negative equity) counts that year's accounts with that trait. Accounts are late when they are filed after the statutory deadline. The direction per financial year follows the companies still registered today. Missing or 90 days late counts the companies with accounts missing today, or whose latest were filed more than 90 days after the deadline. The dossier follows the same rule.