Building and operating·FindingNo link

Companies that apply for a new-build permit are no more likely to see a board change

Companies with a new-build permit application were no more likely to have a board change within nine months than similar companies: 19.5% against 18.2%. Both measurements rule out a link of 1.4 times or more. The source only covers 671,780 companies with their registered office in Flanders; the comparison stays within that group.

Board change within nine months of the event

Both measurements combined · 5,152 companies

After a new-build permit application19.5%

Similar companies18.2%

1.1×

No meaningful difference from similar companies.

95% interval: 1.0× to 1.1×
Companies: 5,152
Measurements: 2, independent

Source: Hunch Lab, cohort study within 671,780 companies with their registered office in Flanders. 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 Jan–Jun 2025, outcome Jul 2025–Mar 2026	20.6%	17.2%	1.2×
Measurement 2	event Jul–Dec 2025, outcome Jan–Sep 2026	18.5%	19.2%	0.97×

How often does this happen?

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

New-build permit application531 a month on average

Board change8,802 a month on average

More on new-build permit application

6 other findings

FindingWith the eventSimilarFactorResult

Companies that apply for a new-build permit are four times as likely to file another type of planning applicationBuilding and operating12.3%3.1%4.0×Confirmed Companies that apply for a new-build permit are more than three times as likely to apply for a renovation or extension permitBuilding and operating6.5%2.0%3.2×Confirmed Companies that apply for a new-build permit are three times as likely to apply for an environmental permitBuilding and operating21.9%7.5%2.9×Confirmed Companies that apply for a new-build permit are 1.5 times as likely to open a site in another municipalityBuilding and operating2.4%1.6%1.5×Confirmed Companies that apply for a new-build permit are 1.4 times as likely to open a new establishmentBuilding and operating3.2%2.3%1.4×Confirmed

All findings on new-build permit application

Technical note

Methodology

Design: Retrospective cohort study
Population studied: 671,780 companies with their registered office in Flanders
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 Jan–Jun 2025, outcome Jul 2025–Mar 2026; event Jul–Dec 2025, outcome Jan–Sep 2026
Observed and expected: 1,007 cases, 938 expected
Factor (95% interval): 1.1× (1.0× to 1.1×)
Multiple testing: q < 0.001 (Benjamini-Hochberg)
Second measurement: p = 0.47
Other comparison groups: economically active companies 1.5× (1.4× to 1.6×); all companies 1.7× (1.6× to 1.8×)
Absolute difference: 1.3 percentage points; following 75 companies with the event yields one extra case
Size of the groups: active 67,044, economically active 214,185, all 671,780 companies
Strata: 88 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). Companies that apply for a new-build permit are no more likely to see a board change. Data up to September 2026. https://hunchleads.com/en/lab/vg-nieuwbouw-bestuurswijziging

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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