According to a survey, a lack of successors could mean the end for more and more medium-sized companies in Germany. “We will encounter unwanted company closures more frequently. In the near future, this will probably affect every fourth successor request,” fears Fritzi Köhler-Geib, chief economist at the state development bank KfW. According to the KfW survey, around 560,000 of the approximately 3.8 million medium-sized companies are aiming for a successor by the end of 2026. Around 190,000 are planning to leave the market without a successor plan.
According to 79 percent of the almost 10,800 respondents, by far the biggest hurdle to a successful succession is a lack of suitable candidates. A year earlier it was 76 percent. The problem: the baby boomer generation with the baby boom is followed by significantly weaker cohorts. There is a lack of offspring. At the same time, the need for successors is increasing. According to the information, a third of entrepreneurs are currently 60 or older. That’s about 1.2 million and about three times more than 20 years ago.
Other hurdles from the point of view of the respondents are above all the agreement on a purchase price (34 percent) and the bureaucratic effort (28 percent). Multiple entries were possible.
The desire for a successor plan within the family is still very pronounced. According to the survey, 53 percent of companies with sales of up to 500 million euros favor this variant, followed by selling to external parties (45 percent) or employees (26 percent). By the end of this year, around 190,000 owners are planning to place their company in the hands of a successor.
