Enterprises staring at bankruptcy
Four out of 10 small and medium-sized enterprises live under the fear of being forced to shut down for good in the coming months, as loss in turnover and the amassed debts the pandemic has led to have rendered their sustainability highly doubtful.
That rate is even higher among enterprises that have been forced to close by state order, as 53.9% of them fear their end is near.
Those figures, and many more, are significantly higher than those recorded in the summer of 2020, in the previous biannual report by the Small Enterprises Foundation of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants (GSEVEE).
“The extended period of the ban on the operation of a large section of economic activity, combined with the uncertainty about how long it will take before some form of normality is restored, appears to have a constantly growing burden on the majority of small and very small enterprises,” notes the report.
There has also been a rise in the number of enterprises with expired dues, which is set to lead to a new increase in the amount of private debt.