Experts get company succession off the ground
With the "NachfolgeBus" (Succession Bus), 12 experienced experts in succession planning are touring across Switzerland, offering entrepreneurs free talks on business succession.
30 percent of business successions in Switzerland fail. This means that a good 5,000 companies are liquidated every year instead of being continued. That's 14 SMEs a day that close due to a lack of a succession solution. In terms of jobs, there are more than 400,000 companies affected by a more or less acute succession situation. This is roughly equivalent to the population of the canton of Lucerne (cf. Succession Study SME Switzerland 2017, https://www.bisnode.ch/ueber-bisnode/ueber-uns/presse-und-pr/nachfolge-studie-kmu-schweiz-2017/).
Free talks around the business succession
Carla Kaufmann (pictured), an experienced expert in the field of business succession, has been observing this negative development for eight years. Because watching is known to change nothing, she initiated the project "NachfolgeBus". With 12 experienced experts, the owner of Companymarket AG is touring across German-speaking Switzerland for the first time this year, offering SME entrepreneurs free qualified talks on all aspects of the succession process. "If the Swiss economy continues to focus as pronouncedly as it has for some time on the entrepreneurial startup phase instead of investing to at least the same extent in growth and, above all, succession for existing companies, our economy will suffer a fundamental loss of substance. In other words, Switzerland is driving its substance to the wall. When we took over the Companymarket platform eight years ago, we had 30 percent of companies from the industrial sector on the platform every year. Today, we are well below 10 percent. We have deindustrialized. However, I think this fact is being criminally ignored," states Carla Kaufmann.
Sharpen urgency
This is precisely where their "NachfolgeBus" project comes in. On the one hand, the intention is to raise general awareness of the urgency of company succession. On the other hand, it is about motivating SME owners and potential buyers and sellers to actively address the issue of succession. After all, Swiss SMEs should be preserved. "At some point, people will understand that we should not only invest in the software of robots, but also in the housing," Kaufmann continues. Six stops are on the tour schedule from May 24 to June 28. The route of the "NachfolgeBus" runs from Chur via Zurich to Aarau, Basel and Bern, and finally to the heart of Switzerland, to Schwyz. Short presentations and panel discussions with representatives from regional politics and companies will provide topical supplementary impulses. The concluding aperitif and barbecue will provide an opportunity to continue the exchange with the experts present.
Positive response and support from the regions
Cantonal organizations such as location and business development agencies, chambers of commerce and trade associations welcome the "NachfolgeBus" project and act as additional multipliers in their regions. The large-scale initiative receives both financial and non-material support from various financial institutions as well as renowned SMEs - one of which has a 324-year company history. As part of the tour program, representatives from politics and business will enliven the discussion about the succession market with current aspects and best practice examples. It will be exciting.
Important in a nutshell
Short program - the follow-up bus is on site from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day:
- From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Free one-on-one meetings with the experts
- From approx. 4 p.m.: Short presentations and panel discussions with regional representatives from politics and business
- From 18.30 to 20 h: aperitif and barbecue
All tour stops 2018 at a glance:
- May 24: Chur
- May 31: Zurich
- June 5: Aarau
- June 14: Basel
- June 21: Bern
- June 28: Schwyz
The Expert Circle:
- Franziska Müller-Tiberini, Family business.ch AG
- Petra Ducksch, DTK Attorneys at Law
- Carla Kaufmann, Companymarket AG
- Giacomo Garaventa, Successor.ch
- Hans-Peter Ruepp, Ruepp & Partner AG
- Fabian Rudin, Business Transaction AG
- David Dahinden, BDO AG
- Christoph Brunner, OBT AG
- Dr. Jean-Luc Cornaz, Partnerinvest/Citecs AG
- Richard Jauch, SME Diamant Consulting AG
- Daniel Burkhalter, Succession Pool Switzerland GmbH
- Stephan Illi, Consulta AG
- Hans-Jürg Domenig, Approach Company Succession GmbH
- Marco Tunesi, VZ VermögensZentrum AG
More information: www.nachfolgebus.ch
