Almost a quarter of companies admit risk of bankruptcy

Almost a quarter of Portugal’s companies admit that they may have to close over the next two years if there is a major recession.

This is the conclusion of the 2025 edition of the ‘European Payments Report’, a survey carried out by Intrum into thousands of European companies, including 240 Portuguese companies, on the business prospects for this year.

The report, which was completed in February, even before the announcement of tariffs, paints a sombre picture of what company directors think.

When asked if they agreed with the phrase “if economic conditions don’t improve soon for my organisation, there is a real risk that my organisation could fail in the next two years”, 23% said ‘Yes’.

Not surprisingly, the proportion is larger for Small and Medium Companies with 29% admitting a risk while 11% of large companies thought there was a risk.

“For many companies the scenario is more than challenging – it is a threat to their survival”, concluded Intrum.

The pessimism among Portugal’s bosses was the same in the European Union with Portugal placed among the average opinions – opinions in the EU ranged from 19% in Slovenia and 31% in Croatia.