As one of the smaller chamber districts in Germany, the Ulm district of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) is not without problems in the overall comparison, with 54 per cent of companies affected by the handover in 2022.
This is the result of the first nationwide uniform study on the situation of business succession in 79 IHK locations by the management consulting firm KERN ? the succession specialists. The study shows in detail the high pressure on family businesses to act when it comes to settling business succession in all regions of Germany. In the following, we highlight the situation of business succession in Ulm.
Ulm ? A major hub of the electronics industry
With 227,000 employees and a gross domestic product (GDP) of 21 billion euros, the chamber district occupies a top position in Baden Württemberg, especially in the service sector. According to the study, 2,672 companies alone currently generate between 250,000 and 50 million euros in turnover. The makers of the KERN ? Study were interested in one thing above all:
What is the situation regarding company succession in Ulm?
- Currently are 37% of all company directors in Ulm are older than 55. This means that they will soon be facing a generational change.
- Around 84% of all companies surveyed are small and medium-sized family businesses with a turnover of less than 5 million euros.
- Ulm’s corporate leaders are older than the national averageIn 2022, 54% of all chiefs will already be older than 55.
First of all, the study makes it clear that in the Ulm chamber district, too, a successful generational change will be a very formative task for companies in the next five years. Because entrepreneurs have to find successors who fit their company and the employees professionally, personally and strategically? Norbert Lang. The partner responsible for the region at KERN ? The succession specialists: “Suitable successors should have entrepreneurship in them and have the right training. In addition, they should be able to grow step by step into taking on responsibility?
Lang also provides further reasons why the topic of company succession will become more and more explosive in the near future:
- The baby boomer generation with the highest birth rates is retiring.
- Entrepreneurial children no longer necessarily enter into a family-internal succession.
- Many entrepreneurs underestimate the complexity of a succession process and are therefore not sufficiently prepared.
Well-prepared business succession in Ulm is the Success factor for the future
For the succession specialists at KERN, however, one thing is certain: even in smaller and dynamic IHK districts such as Ulm, the course for the future will be set in the next five years with the upcoming generation change. They therefore recommend that the complex process of company succession in Ulm be better prepared at an early stage and actively pursued.
About the KERN ? Business Succession Study 2017
In the nationwide study, KERN aktuell analysed all 79 IHK districts in the relevant age and turnover categories for the development of business succession up to 2022. A total of 564,443 companies in the turnover categories of 250,000 euros to 5 million euros as well as companies with up to 50 million euros in turnover were recorded. The analysis of the selected companies thus not only includes data from nearly 500,000 firms with annual turnover of less than 5 million euros. Rather, a further 65,000 firms with more than 5 million euros in annual turnover were included in the study.
Click here for the Results of the Study.
Tips for further reading:
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Interview: Preparing the succession within the family well
On the one hand, there are currently 37% of all company directors in Ulm older than 55 years. This means that a generational change is imminent. In addition, Ulm’s company leaders are Older than the national average. In 2022, 54% of all bosses will be older than 55. This upheaval affects small family businesses in particular. After all, around 84% of all companies surveyed have a turnover of less than 5 million euros.
First, the baby boomers are retiring. This includes many entrepreneurs. Moreover, family succession is no longer the first choice for many entrepreneurs’ children. On top of that, there is a lack of preparation. This is because many entrepreneurs underestimate the scope of the succession process.
