Financial distress·FindingConfirmed

Companies whose registered address is struck off are almost four times as likely to move their registered office

Of the 21,453 companies with a struck-off registered address, 6.0% also had a move of the registered office within nine months, against 1.6% among similar companies.

Registered office move within nine months of the event

Both measurements combined · 21,453 companies

3.7×

as often as among similar companies.

95% interval
3.5× to 3.9×
Companies
21,453
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.

MeasurementPeriodWith the eventSimilarFactor
Measurement 1event Feb–Jun 2025, outcome Jul 2025–Mar 20265.0%1.8%2.8×
Measurement 2event Jul–Dec 2025, outcome Jan–Sep 202610.5%0.9%12×

When does it happen?

Cumulative share by month after the first event. Half of the cases in the first year occur within 4 months.

0%5%10%15%1 month3 mo6 mo9 mo12 mo8.2%with the event14.6%similar

By sector

The sectors with the most companies in the test, both measurements combined.

SectorCompaniesWith the eventSimilarFactor
Professional services2,7785.6%2.3%2.5×
Construction2,03610.7%2.6%4.1×
Wholesale and retail1,4448.7%2.6%3.4×
Information and communication9778.0%1.9%4.1×
Financial services8814.4%1.4%3.2×

By size class

Full-time equivalents from the latest annual accounts. Employer: staff registered with the NSSO, headcount unknown.

SizeCompaniesWith the eventComparableFactor
No staff17,7735.8%1.6%3.7×
Employer, headcount unknown3,0387.7%2.2%3.6×

How often does this happen?

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

Registered address struck off718 a month on average
Registered office move3,570 a month on average

More on registered address struck off

1 other finding

FindingWith the eventSimilarFactorResult
Companies whose registered address is struck off are more than nine times as likely to go bankruptFinancial distress4.5%0.5%9.1×Confirmed

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
1,279 cases, 350 expected
Factor (95% interval)
3.7× (3.5× to 3.9×)
Multiple testing
q < 0.001 (Benjamini-Hochberg)
Second measurement
p < 0.001
Other comparison groups
economically active companies 2.6× (2.5× to 2.8×); all companies 1.9× (1.8× to 2.0×)
Absolute difference
4.3 percentage points; following 23 companies with the event yields one extra case
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). Companies whose registered address is struck off are almost four times as likely to move their registered office. Data up to September 2026. https://hunchleads.com/en/lab/zeteladres-doorgehaald-zetelverplaatsing

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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