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.
