Ageing Mittelstand bosses seen as threat to German economic vitality

Berlin

THE small and medium-sized, often family-owned companies that form the bedrock of the German economy are facing a corrosive problem that could undermine their future viability: too many ageing owners without heirs and averse to investment.

Elderly entrepreneurs unable or unwilling to pass the reins to the next generation could be putting in jeopardy the fate of some of the roughly 3.6 million firms that make up Germany's world-famous Mittelstand.

Even the economy ministry in Berlin is worried enough to have devised an action plan for the "Future of the Mittelstand", to address key challenges such as generational succession and the need to boost innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Around a third of Mittelstand owners are 55 or older and this age group is growing four times faster among the sector's bosses than in the general population, a survey by state development bank KfW f…