Dansk
It may not be something you think about on a daily basis, but around 70% of family businesses fail to make the transition to the next generation (source: KPMG: STEP 2019 GlobalBusiness Survey).
The most cited reason isn't a lack of talent - it's the absence of a robust, documented and embedded strategy that survives everyday life, ownership logics and changing roles.
Fewer than 30% (source: Goodwin & Sons Consulting) actually make it to the second generation; less than half have a solidly documented and communicated plan.
There are three recurring patterns:
1. Strategy lives in heads - not in the organization. Knowledge is personal, not operational. When the key changes pockets, direction disappears.
2. The plan exists - but it doesn't live. A plan without ownership, metrics and follow-up is not a strategy - it's intention.
3. role slippage in the family. Unclear mandates between owners, board of directors and management create weakened decision-making power precisely where the pace should be increased.
Succession is the biggest strategic change in the life of a family business - and in Denmark, this applies to over 60,000 companies that together employ 850,000 people.
It's not just a spreadsheet problem; it's a management and implementation problem.
The framework conditions have also become more predictable (e.g. lower succession tax and schematic valuation) - making succession no longer a financial risk, but a strategic opportunity.
1) Strategy as an operational system
Bring together purpose, goals, priorities, KPIs and risks in one coherent setup. One truth, one pace - across management, board and teams.
2) Document - and anchor
A plan only counts when it is documented, communicated and measured. Make documentation and transparency part of operations (not an appendix).
3) Board as execution engine
Give the board concrete control points: quarterly priority choices, consequence logic ("what do we stop?") and ownership of the leadership/competency pipeline.
4) First 100 days: Get up and running - fast
Define a weekly rhythm: decide - build - measure - learn. (The board follows up on measurement points, not gut feelings.)
5) Generational change ≠ copy
Results are better when the next generation has external experience before taking the helm. Make it an explicit requirement - and a development process.
- Case: AVS Denmark - from yellow banknotes to dynamic strategy
- Case: BSBIndustry - new CEO, new cadence
More cases can be seen HERE
Succession is never just a question of tax, law and inheritance. It is first and foremost a strategic moment - a test of whether the company is strong enough to live on without the person who has carried it so far.
Generational change rarely succeeds by "moving on".
It succeeds when strategy is clear, measurable and anchored - and when the board and management dare to opt out.
The statistics are harsh.
That's why they are an invitation to do better - now.
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- Family Business survival rates (30% → G2; 10-15% → G3; 3-5% → G4). Craig E. Aronoff, Family Business Survival: Understanding theStatistics, The Family Business Consulting Group (FBCG). PDF: https://www.thefbcg.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FBA_Family-Business-Survival-Understanding-the-Statistics_CA.pdf
- Share with robust, documented & communicated succession plan (34%). PwC US, "Continuity and succession planning" (citing 2023 US Family Business Survey): https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/audit-assurance/private-company-services/family-business/business-transition-and-succession-planning.html
(See also the overview of the 2023 survey: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/audit-assurance/private-company-services/library/family-business-survey.html)
- Denmark: Reduction of estate and gift tax from 15% to 10% + schematic valuation at generational transfer of business companies.Folketingets lovforslag L 123 (2024-25): https://www.ft.dk/samling/20241/lovforslag/l123/index.htm
First reading/negotiation: https://www.ft.dk/samling/20241/lovforslag/L123/BEH1-53/forhandling.htm
Comments (appendix with effects and method): https://www.ft.dk/samling/20241/lovforslag/l123/bilag/4/2972079.pdf
Skattestyrelsens juridiske vejledning (virkning og betingelser): https://info.skat.dk/data.aspx?oid=2250286
- Overview and interpretation (Big Four). EY Denmark, "New schematic valuation model for generational change" (11.07.2024): https://www.ey.com/da_dk/insights/tax/ny-skematisk-vaerdiansaettelsesmodel-til-generationsskifte
- OECD Framework for Corporate Governance. G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance(2023) - official PDF: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2023/09/g20-oecd-principles-of-corporate-governance-2023_60836fcb/ed750b30-en.pdf
Overview page: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2023/09/g20-oecd-principles-of-corporate-governance-2023_60836fcb.html
- " Tens of thousands" of Danish companies for change of ownership. DanskIndustri (DI) references CBS analysis: "Over 40,000 companies are owned and managed by people over 60 ..." (2019): https://www.danskindustri.dk/di-business/arkiv/nyheder/2019/11/100.000-job-afhangige-af-succesrigt-generations-eller-ejerskifte/
Jyske Bank TV references CBS report (Nov. 2023) with almost 40,000 companies: https://jyskebank.tv/knap-40000-danske-virksomheder-star