More than half are 55 or older
In 2025, 57 % of owners of German SMEs were 55 or older. Twenty years ago it was 20 %. (KfW Research, Nachfolge-Monitoring Mittelstand 2025)
KfW Succession Monitoring 2025
Business succession & investments Coming soon
Your business should keep running. Even without you.
Many healthy businesses find no successor, often because too much lives only in the owner's head. We make your business ready for handover: processes written down, data in one place, figures at the push of a button. If it fits, we invest ourselves.
- Ready for handoverKnowledge and processes out of your head and into the system. That helps with every kind of handover.
- We can take overFor selected businesses in Bavaria we are a buyer ourselves: takeover or investment.
- ConfidentialYour team and customers only hear about your plans when you want them to.
- ProcessesWritten down, not just in your head
- Quotes
- Purchasing
- Payroll
- DataIn one place, via interfaces
- FiguresAt the push of a button, not from binders
- HandoverThe business keeps running
Whoever takes over works by the same procedures.
The situation
Succession is no longer a rare case.
The baby boomers are retiring. For many businesses it is open what comes next.
One in four considers closing
25 % of SMEs consider closing rather than handing over once the owner retires. (KfW Research, 2026)
KfW Succession Monitoring 2025More businesses than buyers
In 2024, around 9,600 businesses looking for a successor met only around 4,000 interested buyers at the chambers of commerce. (DIHK succession report 2025)
DIHK Succession Report 2025Bavaria is hit hard
In Bavaria, around 52,500 economically successful companies with about 668,000 employees face succession between 2027 and 2031. (Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, cited by IHK Regensburg, May 2026)
IHK Regensburg, 7 May 2026
Where it gets stuck
Handovers rarely fail for lack of will.
They fail for lack of preparation. That can be fixed.
Started too late
38% of outgoing owners advised by the chambers are not well prepared for succession at the time of consultation. Separately, three quarters of those advised seek external help only two years or less before handover. (DIHK Report 2025, p. 23)
DIHK Report 2025, p. 23Everything depends on the boss
Customer contacts, prices, special deals: if only the owner knows them, that is a risk for a buyer. And it lowers the price.
Paper, Excel, isolated tools
A successor wants to understand how the business runs. Scattered lists and folders make that hard and expensive.
Bureaucracy and law
45% of SMEs see bureaucracy as a succession hurdle, 32% legal or tax complexity. The figures refer to all SMEs. (KfW Succession Monitoring 2025, 9 January 2026, chart 8, pp. 7–8)
KfW, chart 8, pp. 7–8 (9 January 2026)
Ready for handover
What makes a business ready for handover
A business is ready for handover when it works without the person at the top. That is what we work on with you.
Processes are written down
Quote, order, purchasing, invoice: every process is described so that a newcomer understands it. Not in a binder, but where the work happens.
Data in one place
Customers, orders, stock and figures do not sit in ten programs but are connected through one common interface.
Figures at the push of a button
Revenue per customer, margin per order, open items: a buyer or their bank gets reliable figures without anyone searching for weeks.
Customers know the business, not just you
Fixed contacts, self-service for orders and status. So your customers stay when you leave.
Routine runs automatically
The system handles recurring work. Your successor takes over a business that does not overwhelm them on day one.
A team that knows what to do
Responsibilities are clear, deputies are in place. Your people carry the transition.
Two options
You decide what happens next.
Both options start with the same assessment. Whether you sell, and to whom, is your decision.
Option 1: You hand over, we prepare
To family, employees or a buyer of your choice. We make the business ready beforehand, as consulting or with implementation. We then have nothing to do with the sale itself.
Option 2: We invest ourselves
For selected businesses we are a buyer ourselves, through a takeover or an investment. The aim is to continue the business with its team, location and name, and to modernise it with our layer.
How we work
At your pace. You can stop after every step.
- 01
Confidential conversation
We listen: what you have built, what matters to you, what time frame you have in mind. No obligation.
- 02
Assessment
We look at processes, programs and data and show you what today lives only in your head. You get a written plan.
- 03
Making it ready
Writing down processes, bringing data together, automating routine. Step by step, without disrupting daily business.
- 04
Handover
You hand over, with your advisers, to the successor of your choice. Or we talk about a takeover or investment by us.
What we don't do
We are not tax advisers, lawyers or business brokers. Valuation, contracts and taxes belong with your tax adviser, lawyer and notary. We work with them and provide the documents they need. If we are a buyer ourselves, we say so from the start. In that case we do not advise you on the price.
Where to turn
Support that already exists
No one has to handle succession alone. Whether our services qualify for funding is still being checked.
IHK Regensburg
The chamber of commerce for Upper Palatinate / Kelheim advises on succession and runs events and networks for sellers and buyers.
IHK Regensburgnexxt-change platform
A free platform run by the federal government, KfW, the chambers and banking associations. Sellers and buyers find each other anonymously.
nexxt-changeConsulting subsidies
Federal and Bavarian programmes subsidise consulting, for example BAFA's SME consulting programme or the Bavarian pre-start-up and succession coaching. Your chamber can tell you what fits.
IHK: succession and fundingDevelopment loans for buyers
Buyers can use development loans through their bank, for example KfW's ERP loan for start-ups and succession or programmes of LfA Förderbank Bayern.
KfW: start-ups and successionFrequently asked questions
When should I start?
Earlier than most people think. IHK Regensburg recommends starting to plan five to seven years before the handover at the latest. Getting ready takes time, and a well-prepared business leaves you more choice.
IHK succession adviceDo I have to want to sell?
No. A business that is ready for handover also runs better for you: less dependence on you, more time, cover when you are ill. Whether, when and to whom you hand over, you decide later.
Are you a broker?
No. We do not broker businesses and take no commission from buyers. Either we prepare your business, or we are a buyer ourselves. We always tell you openly which.
Will this stay confidential?
Yes. Your team, your customers and your bank only hear about it when you want them to. On request we sign a confidentiality agreement up front.
What happens to my employees?
When getting ready for handover, your people are the most important holders of knowledge. If we invest ourselves, we want to continue the business with the team. The details are set out in the contract, which you review with your advisers.
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