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Retail sale of automotive fuel

Current registrations 1,234division 47: 115,448
Starters, 12 months 453.6 per 100 · Belgium 8.9
Bankruptcies, 12 months 1411.3 per 1,000 registrations · Belgium 6.2
Employment (FTE) 2,555237 employers · latest accounts
Median age 16.6 yearsBelgium 8.1 years
E-invoicing via Peppol 90.7%1,119 of 1,234 companies in the Peppol Directory · Belgium 85.0%

Filed accounts

NACE 47300 · financial year 2025 · 864 filed annual accounts
Median solvency
40.0%
division 35.1% · Belgium 46.1%
Median net result
€16,752
division €11,274 · Belgium €16,520
Median equity
€144,467
division €98,568 · Belgium €98,421
Loss-making
25.9%
division 29.5% · Belgium 26.7%
Negative equity
12.5%
division 16.9% · Belgium 12.4%
Median return on equity
10.1%
division 12.3% · Belgium 15.9%
Median liquidity
1.53
division 1.47 · Belgium 1.66
Filed late
50.0%
financial year 2024, 908 filings · division 46.7% · Belgium 38.4%
Missing or 90 days late
8.8%
of 992 companies with annual accounts · division 7.5% · Belgium 5.4%
Per financial year202020212022202320242025
Median solvency 37.0%35.9%35.3%36.7%39.2%40.0%
Median net result €14,513€15,824€13,832€12,195€13,884€16,752

Hold your customer's or competitor's figures against them in the Sector benchmark

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies, 5 years, still registered
43
3.48% of the registrations · Belgium 1.68%
Running bankruptcies
58
47.0 per 1,000 registrations

Recent bankruptcies

Date Company
26-10-2026 EUROPEAN PETROL OIL COMPANY
BE 0762.665.270
14-09-2026 RENTAL INVEST
BE 0885.778.759
10-08-2026 GULDIE
BE 1000.423.653
26-05-2026 ARIK
BE 0644.832.838
26-05-2026 YN Solutions
BE 1006.911.171
13-05-2026 UNOIL
BE 0821.440.144
04-05-2026 BO TEAM
BE 0699.905.874
12-03-2026 Florio, Marvin
BE 0541.944.839 · sole trader · Boussu

Every bankruptcy in division 47, last 90 days

Spread across the country

by region and province · 1,129 of 1,234 enterprises with a registered office on file · a sole trader has no published seat
  • Flanders 589 · 52.2%
  • Wallonia 451 · 39.9%
  • Brussels 77 · 6.8%
  • Abroad 12 · 1.1%
fewer moremax 173

Largest employers

NACE 47300 as first main activity · staff from the latest accounts
  1. 1 Servauto BelgiumAuderghem 899 FTEfinancial year 2025
  2. 2 L'UNIQUEBornem 102 FTEfinancial year 2025
  3. 3 P.R.S.Schoten 72.6 FTEfinancial year 2025
  4. 4 U PETROL MANAGEMENTLiège 44.5 FTEfinancial year 2025
  5. 5 Etablissements DEBOISRamillies 42.0 FTEfinancial year 2025

Joint committees

from the latest accounts of 366 companies
  • 201 Independent retail 252
  • 112 Garages 67
  • 200 Auxiliary committee for white-collar workers 55
  • 100 Auxiliary committee for blue-collar workers 40
  • 127 Fuel trade 28
  • 302 Hotels and catering 28
  • 119 Food trade 7
  • 149.04 Metal trade 5
Show the 12 others
  • 140 Transport and logistics 4
  • 311 Large retail businesses 4
  • 124 Construction 3
  • 226 White-collar workers in international trade, transport and logistics 3
  • 111 Metal, mechanical and electrical engineering 2
  • 140.03 Road transport and logistics for third parties 2
  • 209 White-collar workers in metal manufacturing 2
  • 101 Mining 1
  • 109 Clothing and garment industry 1
  • 116 Chemical industry 1
  • 121 Cleaning 1
  • 142.01 Recovery of raw materials 1

Source: the annual accounts at the National Bank. One filing can name more than one committee.

Division 47: Retail trade

Related activities

71 other activities
Activity Registrations Starters, 12 months Bankruptcies, 12 months FTE
Other non-specialised retail sale47120 12,410 1,220 57 17,475
Retail sale of cars and light vans (up to 3.5 tonnes)47811 10,466 852 110 22,429
Non-specialised retail sale with food, beverages or tobacco predominating47110 10,341 836 186 72,308
Retail sale of clothing and accessories for women, men, children and babies (general range)47716 6,396 799 71 10,658
Retail sale of pharmaceutical products47730 5,195 148 8 11,475
Other retail sale of new goods47789 4,198 297 17 2,322
Show all 71 activities
Activity Registrations Starters, 12 months Bankruptcies, 12 months FTE
Retail sale of fruit and vegetables47210 3,671 122 32 1,621
Retail sale of flowers, plants, seeds and fertilisers47761 3,347 185 15 2,345
Retail sale of information and communication equipment47400 3,173 145 30 3,917
Retail sale of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, excluding motor fuels47781 3,078 21 19 932
Retail sale of meat and meat products, excluding game and poultry47221 3,009 141 28 6,931
Retail sale of household furniture47551 2,562 120 40 7,692
Other retail sale of food47279 2,443 325 24 1,420
Retail sale of bread and pastry (bakery outlets)47241 2,352 158 34 2,781
Retail sale of wines and spirits47251 2,328 292 9 140
Retail sale of newspapers and periodicals47621 2,280 75 25 1,856
Retail sale of women's outerwear47711 2,168 293 16 1,724
Retail sale of cosmetics and toilet articles47750 2,047 359 13 1,950
Retail sale of watches and jewellery47770 2,004 187 10 1,243
Retail sale of prescription glasses, lenses and sunglasses47742 1,729 60 5 1,747
Retail sale of hardware, building materials, paint and glass (general range)47521 1,680 63 11 8,283
Retail sale of beverages, general range47252 1,505 163 9 2,992
Retail sale of electrical household appliances47540 1,489 75 7 4,706
Retail sale of bicycles47632 1,448 87 10 1,372
Retail sale of antiques47791 1,434 132 6 377
Retail sale of pets, pet food and pet supplies47762 1,326 128 8 1,463
Retail sale of other sporting goods47639 1,301 102 7 854
Retail sale of other cultural and recreation goods47690 1,277 145 9 202
Retail sale of household textiles and bedding47512 1,259 43 4 2,037
Retail sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories47820 1,255 103 8 1,968
Retail sale of motorcycles and motorcycle parts and accessories47830 1,101 45 4 824
Retail sale of souvenirs and religious articles47784 1,094 151 5 318
Retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods, excluding prescription glasses and lenses47741 1,050 50 9 3,514
Retail sale of other household articles47559 1,036 126 5 200
Retail sale of games and toys47640 1,027 255 5 1,069
Retail sale of footwear47721 1,015 52 8 2,991
Retail sale of second-hand clothing47792 940 153 9 1,453
Retail sale of other second-hand goods, excluding clothing47793 923 175 6 836
Retail sale of chocolate and confectionery47242 879 89 12 361
Intermediation services for non-specialised retail47910 843 560 1 40
Retail sale of lighting equipment47552 752 24 1 2,261
Retail trade47715 664 86 1 249
Retail trade47610 607 72 4 435
Retail trade47530 528 42 1 372
Retail trade47920 510 304 0 36
Retail trade47714 506 34 3 882
Retail trade47713 488 47 6 440
Retail trade47230 455 29 11 345
Retail trade47712 450 53 6 270
Retail trade47553 425 51 2 260
Retail trade47260 411 19 8 342
Retail trade47722 403 36 3 431
Retail trade47271 389 31 1 218
Retail trade47529 365 22 5 233
Retail trade47783 338 30 3 706
Retail trade47812 336 24 2 1,311
Retail trade47525 300 19 0 333
Retail trade47554 272 39 1 318
Retail trade47222 269 26 5 279
Retail trade47519 266 23 1 88
Retail trade47511 259 28 3 79
Retail trade47522 231 14 2 187
Retail trade47513 225 23 0 4
Retail trade47527 212 19 5 304
Retail trade47523 170 7 2 251
Retail trade47526 161 3 1 164
Retail trade47631 127 3 1 49
Retail trade47782 76 9 0 -
Retail trade47524 74 1 3 105
Retail trade47622 33 24 0 6
Retail trade47813 25 9 0 5

Bankruptcies per year in division 47

Per year201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Bankruptcies1,3941,3821,4991,3741,4389317461,0761,1691,2991,294914
Jobs lost2,8933,4682,9132,7132,8924,0882,1122,1254,1563,9333,5112,092

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 47

11,335 employers
Median
€49,800
Belgium €61,400
Middle half
€39,600 to €63,800
half of the employers lie between
Place among sectors
73 of 78
sectors with a median staff cost per FTE, highest first
By size class
SizeMedianMiddle halfEmployers
fewer than 10 FTE €50,500 €39,700 to €64,200 8,071
10 to 49 FTE €46,400 €38,700 to €60,900 2,866
50 to 249 FTE €57,600 €45,000 to €72,100 320
250 FTE or more €58,400 €47,500 to €70,900 78

Running bankruptcies in the sector

NACE division 47
Number
2,272
Half have run longer than
20 months
Belgium: 20 months
Longer than three years
29%
Belgium: 31%

Measured 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.

Outcome by court and division

177 of the 60,397 companies in NACE division 47 have a parent company abroad. Main parent countries: Netherlands (54), France (51) and Germany (15). Together they employ 30,846 of the division's 222,349 FTE: 14%, against 14% for Belgium as a whole.

Subsidies in this sector

per register · legal entities with an enterprise number
  • Flemish subsidies €389.9m awarded 9,037 recipients · 2022 to 2025 · largest: Erkenning en subsidiëring als maatwerkafdeling
  • Federal transfers 11.7m amount as published 30 recipients · 2023 to 2025 · largest: Ondersteuning aan de bijdrage van de organisaties van de civiele maatschappij en institutionele actoren in de realisatie van de doelen van de gemeenschappelijke strategische kaders (cf. art. 2.14.6 en 2.14.10 van de wetsbepalingen)
  • Wallonia-Brussels Federation €31.7m paid 108 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Subventions aux organisations de jeunesse (décret du 20 juin 1980 et du 26 mars 2009)
  • EU budget €76.1m attributed share 24 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Information and communication technology
  • EU research €8.6m EU contribution 14 recipients · 2008 to 2026 · largest: Horizon 2020

Explore every recipient in this sector

Insights on Retail sale of automotive fuel

Balance sheet and result. Return on equity of 10.1% is below Belgium's 15.9%. Solvency of 40.0% is below Belgium's 46.1%.

Bankruptcies. In 12 months, 11.3 of 1,000 companies went bankrupt, against 6.2 in Belgium. That is more than in 92% of the 88 NACE divisions. The median bankruptcy probability of 0.5% is above Belgium's 0.2%.

Inflow and structure. Half of the companies are younger than 16.6 years, against 8.1 years in Belgium. 8.5% of the companies are sole traders, against 41.6% in Belgium. Wallonia holds 40.4% of the seats, against 22.7% in Belgium.

Staff and filing. 50.0% of the financial year 2024 accounts were filed late, against 38.4% in Belgium. The 5 largest employers hold 1,160 of the 2,555 FTE: 45.4%.

Direction. Median solvency rose from 37.0% in financial year 2020 to 40.0% in financial year 2025. The median net result rose from €14,513 in financial year 2020 to €16,752 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 47300 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.