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.