European Forum on the Transfer of Ownership in SMEs
The transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from one generation to the next, an issue vital for the survival of the enterprise, was the subject of the "European Forum on the Transfer of Ownership in SMEs" that took place in Lille, France, on 3-4 February 1997. The Forum, organized at the initiative of the European Commission, had three main aims: - To raise awareness of the need for entrepreneurs to prepare the transfer of business in advance; - To develop and assess best practices for successful transfers; - To agree on conclusions and recommendations. The European Commission drew attention to the problem of transfer of enterprises in its "Recommendation of 7 December 1994 on the Transfer of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises", which identified the most important problems preventing successful transfer and set out a range of practicable solutions. The European Forum was organized as a follow up to this Recommendation. The Forum, opened by Mr. Christos Papoutsis, Commissioner responsible for enterprise policy, presented a good opportunity to evaluate the progress made in the last two years and provided participants with the opportunity to analyse the best ways of transferring the ownership of enterprises, to examine and discuss practical experience of civil, company and tax law, and to evaluate specific measures already existing. Four main obstacles in the process of transfer were identified: - The evaluation of the enterprise; - The financing of the take-over; - Legal aspects; - Emotional aspects linked to the transfer of family businesses (often considered as the most difficult barrier). The importance of this issue is underlined by the European Observatory for SMEs' estimate that about 1.5 million SMEs in Europe risk closure and about 6.3 million jobs are at risk, if transfer is not dealt with seriously by businessmen and public authorities.