Conditions of a family-internal succession

There is a truly capable and willing person within the family who is able to successfully manage the company. The agreement of the family regarding the proposed solution is another important factor for the success of such a solution. Mistrust and resistance towards a potential successor can make an internal solution massively difficult or even impossible.

The successor must have sufficient assets or financial security to pay off any other family members with a corresponding inheritance claim.

Family-internal succession is the most common form of succession planning in Switzerland. Around two thirds of all companies in Switzerland are owned by a family. In a good half of these, succession takes place within the family.

Thanks to our many years of experience with succession processes, we are in a position to provide you with solution-oriented advice and support in all matters. A neutral person is not only able to look at the situation more objectively, but due to our background of experience we are also able to approach and solve possible conflicts in an unbiased way.

And last but not least, we also bring in the necessary expertise to assess questions of valuation, financing and tax issues.

Family-internal succession

Risks

In many cases, the younger generation has different ideas and intentions about how the company should be managed in the future. In many cases, this is perceived as criticism of the previous course and leads to conflicts. The previous owner perceives the planned changes as an indication that his leadership was not good enough

Moral pressure or coercion on a family member to take over the succession without the suitability nor the real desire to do so.

Lack of an open and objective assessment of potential successor candidates

The desire for an internal family succession overrides the objective assessment of skills and readiness.

Too low or too high evaluation of the takeover price from the point of view of the various family members and therefore intra-family conflicts, as the ideas of financial compensation differ greatly.

Opportunities

The successor can be prepared over a longer period of time to take on entrepreneurial responsibility.

Already in the choice of training of the family offspring, a targeted approach can be taken to align the acquired knowledge and skills with the requirements of the future role.

There is no need to search for an external successor and/or buyer.

For employees and customers, there is confidence in a certain continuity.