The study involved 125 Dutch family businesses and these were the main conclusions:

 

  • 10% of bankruptcies are due to the sudden death of the entrepreneur through a lack of succession strategy.
  • 75% of the entrepreneurs indicated that approaching succession is a point of attention.
  • 84% of them would prefer to leave the business to the next generation; 19% of this group does not exclude an external take-over.
  • If family transfer is preferred, 1/3 is in favor of all children becoming co-owners; 1/3 of the respondents prefer one owner within the family.
  • When asked whether the crisis has changed the ideas of succession of the family business, only 11% of the entrepreneurs indicated that this is the case.

Source: www.nyenrode.nl