Entrepreneurs do not prepare their transfer

Nearly half of all small and medium-sized companies will be transferred in the next 10 years, representing more than one million jobs. Unfortunately, the transfer is still too expensive and managers are not sufficiently prepared.

Transmission is sometimes complicated

Each year, 185,000 companies are potentially concerned by a transfer. This is enough to safeguard some 750,000 jobs and create 150,000 new ones!

Transmission too expensive ?

Companies that anticipate their transfer have higher investment, profitability and survival rates than those that have not prepared anything. For example, in France, it is estimated that out of the 60,000 companies put on the market, 30,000 close down for lack of a buyer, destroying nearly 37,000 jobs in the process.

Why did this happen? Some point to financial, administrative and fiscal difficulties. In Europe, Germany has created a tax system that facilitates and encourages the transfer of businesses, taxed at 0%. The cost is also extremely low in Belgium, at 3%, and in Spain, with only 0.02% in exchange for maintaining the payroll. While decision-makers have taken the full measure of the stakes involved in transferring a business, it remains significantly more expensive than in other European countries.

Read also: What is the country that taxes transfers the most?

Leaders too unprepared

But taxation is not the only obstacle to the transfer of a business. Psychological or emotional resistance cannot be underestimated. They are at the root of an obvious lack of preparation for the transfer. Some entrepreneurs are reluctant to leave their teams and their premises. They delay the deadline until the last moment. They do not plan the necessary steps for the transfer beforehand.
There is a mismatch between supply and demand. The typical profile of the buyer is a man or a woman aged 40 to 45 years old, with a higher education and looking for a small business with 20 to 30 employees. However, 97% of the companies being transferred have less than 20 employees. To find a buyer, the market must rely on the talent of young people, who can find a real alternative to starting a business.
A situation that could be corrected by the family transmission. However, this still only concerns 10% of SME and ETI sales. We note that this transaction is favored by a certain territorial industrial fabric, particularly in areas with a lower density of companies.

In any case, the complexity of the transfer process, which lengthens the transfer time, is the first obstacle to be removed. Managers need to set up appropriate governance with their family members or other trusted collaborators. A handover charter thus makes it possible to assert the company’s values and to place its strategy on a long-term basis. This is a major economic issue, both in terms of dynamism and attractiveness of the territories.
Business owners, don’t wait any longer! Prepare the future transfer of your company today. Contact Actoria consultants, experts of more than 20 years in business transfer.