Business wanted: why I want to continue companies without a successor

Many economically healthy companies close not because the orders dry up, but because no one takes over. Doors that stood open for decades stay shut for good — and with them, more is lost than a business.

Employees lose not only their jobs but also prospects in their home region. With every closed business, the local economy grows weaker. And knowledge, values and decades of experience are lost for good.

This is not a mood but a matter of record. The Institut für Mittelstandsforschung Bonn estimates around 186,000 companies in Germany facing a handover between 2026 and 2030. KfW reports that 57 per cent of Mittelstand owners are 55 or older — in 2003 the figure was 20 per cent. And in the succession advisory work of the chambers of industry and commerce, 5,620 companies had no candidate at all in 2024, a record high — an advisory statistic, not a representative survey of the Mittelstand as a whole. I have collected the figures, together with their limits, in a separate article.

This is exactly why I am looking for owner-led companies that will need a successor in the coming years. I do not promise miracles. But I bring the willingness to take on responsibility, to learn new industries and to develop companies for the long term — with respect for what has been built and a clear view forward.

I bring experience in, among others, these areas: marketing and brand building, business development, digitalisation and processes, networks and cooperation, as well as communication and visibility. What matters to me is the promise that runs through this whole site: the business keeps its name, the team stays on board, and the handover gets the time it needs.

Every business succession is different. That is why everything starts with an open, no-obligation conversation — at your company, at your pace, and your tax advisor is expressly welcome at the table. It is not about a quick deal, but about trust, people and continuity.

If you are thinking about business succession, or simply want to exchange a first idea, you can reach me directly at info@jonas-schmitz.com. How I approach handovers is also documented in detail on the succession page.

Institut für Mittelstandsforschung Bonn: Unternehmensnachfolgen in Deutschland 2026 bis 2030, Daten und Fakten No. 37 (2025). Source of the roughly 186,000 companies facing a handover between 2026 and 2030. This is an estimate rather than a count, and it covers only companies whose profit makes a takeover economically sensible. Available at ifm-bonn.org.

KfW Research: source of the 57 per cent share of Mittelstand owners aged 55 or over. Available at kfw.de.

DIHK-Report Unternehmensnachfolge 2025: source of the 5,620 companies that had no candidate in chamber advisory work in 2024. This is an advisory statistic, not a representative survey of the Mittelstand — anyone who never approaches a chamber does not appear in it. Available at dihk.de.

This article is an appeal, not a technical piece: it asks to be contacted. The figures are therefore kept brief. Anyone wanting them with all qualifications and with the sources properly distinguished will find that in the article on the succession wave in figures.