Business Transfers – The Underestimated Entrepreneurial Option
Across Europe, approximately 30% of SME owners are expected to retire within the next decade, yet many still lack a concrete succession plan. According to the European Commission, one in three business transfers fails, often leading to the closure of otherwise viable companies. This translates into the loss of up to 600,000 jobs each year in the EU, with significant economic and social implications. Encouraging successful business transfers helps ensure continuity, preserve valuable know-how, and support Europe’s long-term competitiveness.
Due to these pressing challenges, the SME Connect Competitiveness, Finance and Taxes Working Group decided to organise a webinar on the topic “Business Transfers – The Underestimated Entrepreneurial Option.”
The webinar was opened by Dr. Horst Heitz, noting that European debates about entrepreneurship frequently concentrate on start-ups, while the issue of business transfers remains largely overlooked. Given Europe’s ageing business population and demographic pressures, he emphasized that the lack of successors for many SMEs represents a growing economic risk. Heitz underlined the need to view business transfers as a genuine entrepreneurial pathway, not merely as an administrative procedure.
Dr. Susanne Durst, Professor of Management at Reykjavik University and Adjunct Professor at TalTech, member of the working group, delivered a presentation titled “Business Transfers – The Underestimated Entrepreneurial Option”. She began by defining business transfers as the transfer of ownership or management from one person to another — whether within a family, to employees, or to external buyers. Professor Durst highlighted that business transfers offer major advantages over start-ups: they involve established structures, customer and supplier networks, and stable revenue streams, which lead to higher survival rates and stronger job retention compared to new ventures.
Her presentation emphasized that while start-ups are often perceived as the more “attractive” option, business succession represents a vital second pathway to entrepreneurship. She stressed the importance of integrating succession into education and entrepreneurship programs, as taking over an existing business can often be easier and more sustainable than starting from scratch. At the same time, she pointed out that many firms lack early succession planning, leaving them unprepared for transition, and that knowledge transfer is frequently neglected, resulting in the loss of critical expertise. Awareness among potential successors also remains limited, as entrepreneurship is still widely understood as creating something new, and educational systems rarely promote business takeovers as legitimate entrepreneurial options.
Professor Durst reviewed various European and national initiatives — such as Transeo, Nexxt Change in Germany, and programs in Finland, Belgium, and Italy — noting that they tend to focus mainly on awareness raising or financial or legal aspects, while the role of education remains underdeveloped. She also presented insights from the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Student Survey (GUESSS), revealing that the share of students interested in becoming successors is both small and declining, as most prefer traditional employment or launching start-ups. In conclusion, she argued that entrepreneurship education and policy frameworks must be reoriented. While start-ups continue to dominate public and policy attention, business transfers should be recognized and promoted as an equally valuable and sustainable entrepreneurial option. Professor Durst also stressed the need for a comprehensive EU-level dataset that captures all facets of entrepreneurship, including business succession, to better inform policy and support measures.
The discussion that followed focused on how EU and national initiatives could be improved to better support and promote business transfers. Participants observed that most existing programs have achieved limited reach, primarily engaging those already aware of the issue rather than attracting new potential successors. A cross-border pilot project connecting entrepreneurs from different EU countries was mentioned as an example, which ultimately failed due to cultural and operational differences. Participants agreed that taking over an existing business can be a more practical and sustainable path than founding a new one, and that mid-career professionals should be encouraged to explore such opportunities. It was also highlighted that psychological and cultural barriers, rather than legal or fiscal ones, often pose the main obstacles to successful transfers.
Concerns were raised regarding the wave of upcoming retirements among SME owners and the shortage of successors, potentially leading to business closures or sales to short-term investors. Gender disparities were also discussed, as women remain underrepresented among business successors.
The session concluded with a shared call for improved data collection, stronger educational and awareness efforts to integrate succession into entrepreneurship thinking, and enhanced cooperation among EU institutions, national governments, and intermediary organizations to facilitate successful business transitions across Europe.