Formation and structure·FindingLess often

Newly incorporated companies are less likely to change their legal form

Of the 50,310 companies with incorporation, 0.06% also had a change of legal form within nine months, against 0.16% among similar companies.

Change of legal form within nine months of the event

Both measurements combined · 50,310 companies

After incorporation0.06%

Similar companies0.16%

0.36×

Less often than among similar companies.

95% interval: 0.25× to 0.52×
Companies: 50,310
Measurements: 2, independent

Source: Hunch Lab, cohort study of 1,141,228 Belgian companies. Compared within sector, size and age, with companies active in the same period.hunchleads.com/en/lab

Does it hold up?

Each measurement uses different companies and a different period. A link only counts if it shows up in both.

Measurement	Period	With the event	Similar	Factor
Measurement 1	event Feb–Jun 2025, outcome Jul 2025–Mar 2026	0.06%	0.12%	0.49×
Measurement 2	event Jul–Dec 2025, outcome Jan–Sep 2026	0.06%	0.19%	0.30×

How often does this happen?

Belgian companies with the event, per month, over the last twelve complete months.

Incorporation4,779 a month on average

Change of legal form601 a month on average

More on incorporation

9 other findings

FindingWith the eventSimilarFactorResult

Newly incorporated companies are less likely to move their registered officeFormation and structure0.3%4.0%0.07×Less often Newly incorporated companies are less likely to apply for a renovation or extension permit NewFormation and structure0.23%0.79%0.30×Less often Newly incorporated companies are less likely to file another type of planning application NewFormation and structure0.32%0.83%0.39×Less often Newly incorporated companies are less likely to have their registered address struck offFormation and structure0.72%1.66%0.43×Less often Newly incorporated companies are less likely to apply for a new-build permit NewFormation and structure0.51%1.09%0.46×Less often

All findings on incorporation

Technical note

Methodology

Design: Retrospective cohort study
Population studied: 1,141,228 Belgian companies (the full business register)
Comparison group: Companies without the event that had another publication or event in the same entry period (active group), from the same stratum: NACE section, size class and age class; indirect standardisation
Cohorts: event Feb–Jun 2025, outcome Jul 2025–Mar 2026; event Jul–Dec 2025, outcome Jan–Sep 2026
Observed and expected: 29 cases, 80 expected
Factor (95% interval): 0.36× (0.25× to 0.52×)
Multiple testing: q = 0.019 (Benjamini-Hochberg)
Second measurement: p < 0.001
Other comparison groups: economically active companies 0.53× (0.37× to 0.77×); all companies 0.73× (0.50× to 1.0×)
Absolute difference: -0.1 percentage points
Size of the groups: active 120,261, economically active 370,738, all 1,141,228 companies
Strata: 131 strata of at least 300 companies (section × size × age; smaller strata merged)
Data up to: September 2026

Cite this findingFree to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

Hunch Lab (2026). Newly incorporated companies are less likely to change their legal form. Data up to September 2026. https://hunchleads.com/en/lab/oprichting-omvorming

Figures for this finding (CSV)

About Hunch Lab

Hunch Lab is the research programme of Hunch. Every finding is free to reuse with attribution. Questions are welcome.

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