Faced with the grandpa-boom of business leaders, 110,000 jobs at stake

The age pyramid cannot lie. The CCI Hauts-de-France has done the calculations: over the next five years, nearly 36,000 business leaders will reach retirement age. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Except that these SMEs are, for the most part, not bankable enough to interest professionals in the transfer-recovery.

The Transentreprise site lists a few businesses in the region: a carpentry and stove business offered at 200,000 euros in Douai, a restaurant at 95,000 euros in Laon, a point of sale and repair of cycles for 70,000 euros in Béthune… Knowing that in 40 % of cases, the transfer price is different from the initial financial valuation. Enough to tie knots in the brain when it’s time to close up shop.

Jobs that cannot be relocated

“Too often with his head in the handlebars, the manager of a small business does not anticipate the transfer of his activity: once he has informed his customers and suppliers, the network of potential buyers is very quickly limited”, clearly observes Philippe Hourdain, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Hauts-de-France.

Problem, not only are no less than 110,000 jobs, very often not relocatable, which are at stake (94% of companies employing less than ten employees) but it is also a certain know-how which risks being lost with this absence. transmission. “The CCI intends to be at the rendezvous of sellers and buyers, because they are the ones who create long-term employment”, continues Philippe Hourdain.

The consular chamber thus supports nearly 1,000 projects per year, by offering diagnoses on the companies concerned but above all by connecting those who seek to take over with those who sell. But it is still necessary that the sellers think of putting an announcement! Which is not always anticipated because many often wait until the last minute.

Convince the banks

But passing on a business cannot be improvised and requires anticipation. For the transferor, it is necessary to fix the price of his company, and to take some corrective actions upstream if necessary. For the buyer, the economic study must be quite thorough and the profile must be in line with the activity to convince the banks to finance the project.

“It is easier to preserve a job and know-how than to create one, recalls the president of the CCI. We must also make these transmissions-takeovers a major economic issue”. A real generational issue.