Over 48,000 new business
New businesses registering with the General Commercial Register (GEMH) showed an increase of 9.37% in the first nine months of the year compared to the corresponding period of 2023, with those deleted at the same time showing a marginal increase, of 0.12%.
Notably in the most traditional and populous sector of business in Greece, commerce, a 0.94% decrease in new registrations was recorded, which is solely due to the drop in the creation of new retail businesses. On the other hand, double-digit percentages of new business openings were recorded in the sectors of construction and transport-storage (logistics).
From the analysis and processing of GEMH’s statistical data, it becomes clear that in the January-September 2024 period, 48,284 new businesses opened, compared to 44,121 businesses in the corresponding period of 2023. At the same time, 15,524 businesses closed compared to 15,504 in 2023. The balance of registrations/deletions is positive by 32,760 businesses against a positive balance of 28,617 businesses in 2023.
Just over 18% of the businesses that opened in the above period are active in the trade sector, which is the most populous. A total of 8,827 commercial enterprises opened, 0.94% less than last year. The big surprise was in retail commerce, as GEMH data revealed that 4,940 retail businesses have opened this year, 6.6% less than those that opened in the first nine months of 2023, while in contrast an increase was recorded in the wholesale trade sector.
The other traditional sector of domestic business activity, that of accommodation and food service, accounted for approximately 15.75% of new businesses in the first nine months of 2024, as a total of 7,605 new businesses were established, an increase of 7.89% from 2023. Most of are food service businesses – 4,968 – up by 4.02% compared to January-September 2023. The remaining 2,637 belong to the accommodation services sector, where there is much more mobility, with new registrations rising 16.01%.
