Figures on SMEs: Types of succession
The vast majority of business successions are made within a family. It is still often difficult to find a purchaser.
Succession still often poses a problem in small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland: approximately one SME in three disappears because it does not find a purchaser, according to the study "KMU Nachfolge - Quo Vadis?" by the KMU Next foundation. However, it constitutes an interesting alternative to the creation of a structure from zero: the survival rate after five years is 95% for transferred companies versus only 50% for new enterprises.
Almost 42% of SMEs are passed on to a direct descendant, 11% to someone with another familial connection, and 23% to employees or partners within the management who are not family members, according to the "Company Succession in Practice 2022" report published in September 2023 by Credit Suisse.
According to a recent study (Schweizer Erbschaftsstudie 2023), nearly 40% of respondents would continue operating the business if they inherited one. About one-third of heirs would appoint a CEO to manage it. Furthermore, dissolving the company is seen as unthinkable by the respondents, making a sale the preferred option.
Succession according to business size
Close to 101,427 companies were looking for a successor in 2024, according to a study by the data collection company Dun & Bradstreet. Small businesses are particularly affected. Succession issues affect about 17% of Swiss companies of between 10 and 49 employees. By contrast, the same concern only affects 8.1% of companies of 50 to 249 employees.
It is not always easy to find a buyer. In particular, students from a family that owns a company are only slightly interested in a takeover. Nevertheless, their interest increases a few years after the end of their studies, based on a study conducted in over 30 countries by the University of Saint-Gall.