More start-ups of larger companies in the first quarter

Wiesbaden – In the first quarter of 2025, around 36,500 businesses were founded in Germany whose legal form and number of employees indicate greater economic importance. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Friday, this represented 11.4 percent more newly founded larger businesses than in the first quarter of 2024. At the same time, however, the number of complete closures of businesses with greater economic importance also rose by 10.0 percent to around 30,200. New business establishments totaled around 171,500 in the first quarter of 2025, 2.9 percent higher than in the same quarter of the previous year. The total number of business registrations rose by 2.1 percent to around 206,100. In addition to new business establishments, business registrations also include business takeovers (e.g., purchases or joining shareholders), transformations (e.g., mergers or spin-offs), and relocations from other registration districts. The total number of complete business closures in the first quarter of 2025 was approximately 142,300, up 4.0 percent from the same quarter of the previous year. The total number of business deregistrations rose by 2.7 percent to approximately 175,000. According to statisticians, these include not only business closures, but also business transfers (e.g., sales or withdrawal of shareholders), transformations, or relocations to other registration districts.