Successful business transfers benefit Europe’s economy and its social fabric. They help maintain economic activity and preserve jobs by ensuring continuity. Buying an existing company offers an alternative to starting a business from scratch and can be more advantageous. Business transfers occur within a defined regulatory, fiscal and administrative environment, and can benefit from a conducive business environment offering support to both sellers and buyers.
Barriers to business transfers
Key challenges related to business transfers include
- many business owners lack awareness of the need for careful planning and preparation
- taxation issues, especially retirement tax relief; re-investment tax relief; sale to employees' tax relief; and inheritance taxation, including double taxation of cross-border inheritances
- availability and quality of support and advisory services
- inconsistent quality standards related to the functioning of online markets and their inter-connectivity
EU initiatives on business transfers
The Commission has worked on business transfers for over 30 years. Key milestones in EU initiatives include
- the SME Relief Package (2023)
- the SME strategy (2020)
- the Entrepreneurship 2020 action plan (2013)
- the Small Business Act (2008)
- the Commission’s communication on transfer of businesses - Continuity through a new beginning (2006)
- the Commission’s communication on the transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises (1998)
- the Recommendation on the transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises (1994)
EU countries' actions
Barriers to successful business transfers mainly exist at the national and regional levels. To help EU countries develop effective policies and support measures, the Commission provides access to the European structural funds, as well as other EU programmes and funding sources (e.g., Erasmus +) aimed at enhancing the business transfer ecosystem.
Examples of projects/initiatives focused on improving business transfers
Please note that these links lead to non-EU websites. The Commission’s support does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflect the views only of the authors who are responsible for the information.
- Assessment of the framework conditions for business transfers in the EU member states - Overview of measures to facilitate transfer of business, The Network of SME Envoys, May 2024
- ‘Succession and Transfer of Business in Regions’ (STOB regions project), funded by Interreg Europe Programme (2017-2021)
- ‘Innovative Business Transfer Models for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Baltic Sea Region’ (INBETS BSR), funded by the EU Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme (2017-2021)
- ‘Key ingredients to develop successful business transfer ecosystems’ – Handbook for EU countries, developed by Transeo (European Association on SME Transfer), 2021
- ‘Business transfer promotion in European countries’ - Study on SME business transfer promotion best practices in EU countries, by the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (follow-up of the EU project on improving the evidence base on the transfer of business), 2021
- ‘Succession in Family Businesses’ (SUFABU) - project co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ Programme (2019-2021)
- ‘Succession Planning and Regeneration In Family Businesses for a New Growth’ (SPRING) - project co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ Programme (2019-2021)
- ‘Continuity of Traditional Enterprises in Mountain Alpine Space areas’ (C-TEMAlp), funded by the EU Interreg Alpine Space Programme (2015-2018)
- List of projects related to business transfers co-funded by different EU financial instruments in 2013-2023
Support documents
- Improving the evidence base on transfer of business in Europe (2020)
- Evaluation of the implementation of the 2006 Commission communication on business transfers (2013)
- Executive summary (645 kB)
- Final report (1 MB)
- Report - Business dynamics - start-ups, business transfers and bankruptcy (2011) ( 4 MB)
- Facilitating transfer of business – Guidebooks on support SME policy from structural funds