A total of 779 companies were declared bankrupt in July, a rise of 100 on June, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday.

Trading firms and building companies were particularly hard hit although fewer went bankrupt in July than in previous months, the CBS said.

By contrast, a record 83 retail groups went bust. Most of them were consumer electronic shops, furniture stores and DIY outlets.

‘There has been a decline in building sector bankruptcies for four months, which is a good sign,’ a CBS spokesman told news agency ANP. ‘But there are still many more than during good years.’

In total, almost 5,000 firms went bankrupt in the first six months of 2013, an absolute record.