Record year for real estate and construction companies

Portugal is close to reaching an absolute record in company creation. With 49,512 new businesses established by the end of November, representing a 3.6% increase (+1,700) compared to the same period last year, the country registered the highest number of new companies in the last 20 years, falling just about 2,500 short of the historical record by the end of the year. The real estate and construction sectors are the most prominent, according to a report by idealista.

According to data from the Informa D&B Barometer, more than half of the sectors of activity grew in terms of new businesses. The real estate and construction sectors grew the most, with +1,110 new businesses (+22%) and +853 new businesses (+15%), respectively.

Conversely, the transport sector stands out, registering the largest drop in company creation for over a year, with 975 fewer incorporations (-22%), followed by the retail sector, with 318 fewer incorporations (-7.3%), and general services, with 113 fewer incorporations (-1.6%).

Regions

Regionally, the North registered the highest number of incorporations, with the opening of 15,533 new companies, as well as the largest increase (+5.5%; +804 incorporations) compared to the same period last year. Greater Lisbon follows, with 14,564 new businesses and a year-on-year growth of +2.1% (+300 new businesses), while the Algarve decreased, registering -22 new businesses compared to the same period last year (-0.8%), mainly due to the decline in the Transport sector.

Closures and insolvencies drop

Across the country, 11,004 companies closed from the beginning of the year until the end of November, keeping the indicator low compared to the same period last year, while in the period from December 2024 to the end of November 2025, i.e., in the last 12 months, 13,635 companies closed, representing -2,154 closures (-14%).

All sectors of activity registered declines during this period, with the most notable decreases in Retail (-420 closures; -19%), Accommodation and Food Services (-323 closures; -18%), and Business Services (-312 closures; -13%).

Regarding insolvencies, 1,856 companies initiated insolvency proceedings from the beginning of 2025 until the end of November, representing a decrease of 2.9%, or 55 fewer insolvencies compared to the same period last year.

However, this decrease only occurred in three sectors of activity, most notably the Industrial sector, with -134 insolvencies (-26%), especially in the textile and fashion industries (-102 insolvencies; -34%), although this is the industry with the highest number of insolvencies (202) between January and November 2025. This is followed by building construction companies (158 insolvencies).

In general services, insolvencies also fell, with -20 (-14%), as well as in real estate activities, with -8 insolvencies (-14%). On the other hand, the Transport and Business Services sectors registered the largest increase in insolvencies, +41% (+41 insolvencies) and +22% (+33 insolvencies), respectively.