Opportunities for skilled workers: Company succession in the focus of the conference!

Opportunities for skilled workers: Company succession in the focus of the conference!

Economics Minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut sees company succession as a significant opportunity for specialists and managers, especially at a time when many German medium-sized company owners want to retire in the next few years. This was the core of her statements before the two-day conference of economic ministers of the federal states, which is currently taking place in Stuttgart. The minister emphasized the need to give greater consideration to the issue of company succession in mediation through regional hubs.

“We have to send a strong signal to the federal government so that takeover processes can be made easier and faster,” said Hoffmeister-Kraut. She explained that between 2024 and 2028, 14% of medium-sized companies will face company succession, which corresponds to around 106,000 companies per year. This represents a huge challenge, but also an opportunity for many experienced professionals who may be affected by job losses.

Demographic change and succession planning

Data from the KfW Succession Monitoring for SMEs 2024 shows that 54% of business owners in Germany are 55 years of age or older. In addition, numerous business leaders are considering shutting down their companies by the end of 2025. The impending generational change in conjunction with the old age of entrepreneurs has a significant impact on companies' willingness to invest. In many cases, unclear succession plans lead to a decline in planned investments.

KfW points out that clearly regulated succession can significantly increase the willingness to invest. If a successor is secured, an average investment increase of 40% can be expected. Nevertheless, the lack of suitable successor candidates remains the most common hurdle in company handovers. This affects around 72% of companies planning a succession.

Statistical developments in Baden-Württemberg

The Baden-Württemberg State Statistical Office reported that 5,986 company handovers took place in 2022 and 6,088 in 2023. These figures illustrate the trend towards company handovers in the region and underline the urgency on the part of politicians to create suitable framework conditions to facilitate the succession processes.

With the current chairmanship of the Conference of Economic Ministers, Baden-Württemberg has the opportunity to focus on promoting entrepreneurship and improving conditions for founders. The country is faced with the task of actively improving the conditions for company succession so that this opportunity does not go unused.

Overall, the developments show that company succession plays a central role in German medium-sized businesses, both from a social and economic perspective. The coming years will be crucial to ensure that the large number of company transfers not only take place smoothly, but also set an example for a healthy and dynamic medium-sized company in Germany.

ZVW reports, that …

KfW reports, that …