The business transfer market in France

The ageing of business owners explains most of the transfers to come in France. In 2023, 28% of SME and mid-cap owners were aged 60 or over, against 15% in 2005, according to BPCE L’Observatoire cited by Fusions et acquisitions in July 2024. According to Bpifrance, cited by Le Journal des entreprises in February 2026, one in four business owners is over 60 and one in ten is over 65. This ageing has not led to an increase in sales.

Business transfers succeed less often in France than in neighbouring countries: according to RSM France, cited by Stratégies in June 2026, the transfer rate is about 14-15% in France, against 50% in Italy or Germany. The C.R.A states that almost one in two businesses finds no buyer. BPCE L’Observatoire notes that most sales involve owners under 55, and that few older owners manage to sell.

A business takeover in France generally combines personal contribution, a bank loan and quasi-equity. Since 2025, Bpifrance has offered an unsecured transfer growth loan of up to €5m over seven years with a two-year deferral for buyers of SMEs and mid-caps, according to Le Journal des entreprises. Investment funds are also playing a growing role: in 2024, about €350m was invested in SMEs in Hauts-de-France, across around a hundred deals.

The Objectif Reprises plan, presented at Bercy (the French finance ministry) on 23 April 2026, structures public business transfer policy in France around four priorities: informing, matching sellers and buyers, supporting projects and easing financing. It follows the Mission Reprise launched in July 2025, which brought together 200 stakeholders and analysed more than 300 proposals, according to the C.R.A. In the regions, the CCI (chambers of commerce and industry) run schemes such as Transmipro in Alsace or the Maine-et-Loire business transfer hub.

The pacte Dutreil (a French tax relief scheme for transferring businesses) is the main tax lever for business transfers in France: it reduces the taxable value of the transferred business by 75%, subject to a commitment to hold the shares, according to Stratégies in June 2026. The scheme is part of the budget debate: Le Point reported in September 2026 proposals to raise inheritance tax or to call the pacte Dutreil into question. The legal and tax framework is among the obstacles to selling cited by BPCE L’Observatoire.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised in six chapters: definition and scope of business transfer, market size and dynamics, sellers and buyers, advisory and financing players, taxation and public schemes, outlook.

Publications from Bpifrance, BPCE L’Observatoire, the C.R.A and public authorities, and trade press articles from the IndexPresse database. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Business owners preparing a sale, buyers, sale advisory firms, accountants and lawyers, banks and investment funds, as well as chambers of commerce and local authorities supporting business transfers in France.

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