The numbers are hard to ignore. According to the Swedish Federation of Business Owners' report "Företagarfacklan", published in February 2026, 64,000 Swedish companies are led by someone over the age of 65. These companies employ nearly 190,000 people. Including sole proprietors, the figure rises to approximately 210,000 individuals who have either passed or are approaching traditional retirement age.
Six out of ten older business owners state that an ownership transition is relevant or imminent. Despite this, seven out of ten family businesses lack a formal governance structure — and even fewer have a documented succession plan.
someone over 65
upcoming transitions
formal governance
Why is the problem so widespread?
Most business owners we meet have built their companies over decades. The business is their life's work — and the thought of letting go raises more questions than answers. Who should take over? What is the company worth? How will employees be affected? And perhaps the hardest: what will I do afterwards?
The result is that the decision is postponed. One waits until it "feels right" — but that moment tends never to arrive. Instead, the opposite often happens: an unexpected life event, declining health or a changed market forces a decision under pressure.
The pattern we see
In the processes we advise on, we see a clear pattern. Owners who begin planning 2–3 years before the intended transaction consistently achieve better terms. They have time to optimise the company's financial profile, reduce key-person dependency, secure customer contracts and establish a clear growth narrative for the buyer.
Those forced to act reactively — often due to health, burnout or a partner wanting to cash out — end up in a weaker negotiating position. They accept lower prices, worse structures and partners they would never normally have chosen.
What should you do — concretely?
- Map key-person dependency. If the company stops when you stop, you have a problem. Buyers pay for systems, not individuals. Start delegating decisions and documenting processes.
- Clean up the balance sheet. Private assets, dormant subsidiaries, related-party loans — everything not part of the core business should be separated before a process begins.
- Understand your company from the buyer's perspective. A VDD (Vendor Due Diligence) gives you an external quality stamp and shows the buyer you take the process seriously. It shortens the transaction and reduces the risk of late adjustments.
- Set a realistic timeline. From first conversation to signing, a typical process takes 6–12 months. Including preparation, you should budget at least 18 months.
The best ownership transition is one carried out on the owner's terms — not on the circumstances'. And that requires starting earlier than you think.
The demographics of generational change
An interesting observation: the average age of a selling entrepreneur in the Nordics has dropped from 59 to 55 over the past decade. More and more are choosing to sell earlier — often to start something new rather than to retire in the traditional sense.
Research from the Stockholm School of Economics has also shown that the abolition of Sweden's inheritance tax has been linked to stronger growth in private firms with heirs — sales at firms with potential successors were up by 8 percentage points more than at heirless firms. There are strong incentives regardless of whether one chooses family succession or an external sale.
A question of responsibility
An ownership transition is not just about money. It is about the employees who built the company, the customers who depend on delivery and the local community that often relies on the business. Planning the transition in time is not only commercially smart — it is responsible.
Joseph Baudtler
Joseph has over six years of experience in the financial sector, primarily as an advisor, with a background from Translink Corporate Finance and Carnegie Investment Bank.