Planning your succession calmly. What matters for owners.

Many owners think about succession late. That's understandable. The daily running of the business leaves little time, and the topic is personal. It's not just about a sale, but about what you have built over years or decades.

You are not alone in this. According to KfW Research (KfW is Germany's state development bank), 57 percent of owners in the German Mittelstand (small and mid-sized companies) are 55 or older. Owners ready to hand over their business are 66.5 years old on average. Around 545,000 businesses want to arrange their succession by the end of 2029.

Starting early pays off.

A good handover takes time. Time for the search, for getting to know each other, and for the induction period. Experts often recommend starting several years before your desired handover date. If you start early, you have more choice and can decide for yourself how things proceed.

The most important questions to start with.

• How long do you want to stay with the company, and in what role?
• What is important to you in the person who takes over?
• What should remain: the name, location, team, values?
• When and how should your team find out?
• What financial security do you need after the handover?

The different paths you can take.

• Family succession: Your children or relatives take over. This is becoming less and less common.
• Handover to employees (MBO): According to KfW, this accounts for around 24 percent of successions.
• Handover to an external party (MBI or sale): According to KfW, this is around 28 percent.
• Phased handover: first the management, later the shares.

You can find a detailed overview of the different forms in our article Business succession: How it works.

Making your business ready for handover.

A business is ready for handover when it can run without you. This is often the most difficult and, at the same time, the most valuable step.

• Document knowledge: processes, customer relationships, suppliers.
• Distribute responsibility: empower key people in your team.
• Prepare the figures: make financial statements, contracts and investments easy to understand.
• Reduce dependencies: on individual customers or on you personally.

Price and fit.

According to KfW, purchase prices have risen, with the average at around 499,000 euros. The median is 0.6 times the turnover. The price is important. But a successful handover often depends on the fit: whether the person taking over is a good match for your team, your customers and your values. You should always consult experts for valuation, taxes and contracts.

Involving the team.

When your team finds out about the succession is a decision in itself. Too early can cause unrest, too late can lead to a loss of trust. It is helpful to involve key people first and to combine the news with a clear outlook: who is taking over, what will stay the same and what will change.

Discretion.

With Nachfounder, your name and your company remain confidential until you decide who to talk to. No one will know about it before you want them to.

A conversation to start.

You don't need to have decided anything yet. The Succession check gives you an initial assessment with concrete next steps in just a few minutes. Or write to us, and we will get back to you personally. You can see how we support the handover process in our step by step guide.