40% of German Mid-Sized Businesses Face Leadership Transition Challenges

A new study highlights the urgent need for successors in Germany's Mittelstand as aging owners struggle to find replacements.

A Creditreform study reveals that 145,000 of Germany's 373,400 mid-sized businesses are ready for leadership handover due to aging owners.
The service sector is the most affected, with 53,000 companies needing successors, followed by trade (37,000) and manufacturing (27,500).
Key challenges include late planning, a lack of qualified successors, and younger generations hesitant to take on entrepreneurial risks.
Experts warn that without successors, some businesses may shut down, with 10% of surveyed companies preparing for potential closure.
Initiatives like state-supported platforms and university programs aim to address the succession gap and support new leaders.