Securing the future of a medium-sized electrical company

Mario Peranovic, Managing Director of Larsson und Pelz Elektroanlagen GmbH, has taken far-sighted action to secure the future of his company. Through training and further qualification, he has provided for successors in his own company and trained two specialists, Justin Bürger and Nils Stutzer, as master electricians and electrical engineers respectively, who have been able to prove themselves with great dedication and success in various projects and management tasks.

However, expert advice was needed to ensure the long-term loyalty of the new specialists to the company and to prepare for the takeover. This came from Thomas Löhr, who specializes in the topic of successionin the business serviceofthe Hannover RegionEconomic Development Agency.

Mr. Löhr, how did you get into consulting?

Mr. Peranovic contacted me to get an idea of what the takeover process might look like and what he needed to consider. And, of course, he also wanted an initial assessment of the value of his company. I first formulated an outline of ideas with him and drew up an initial milestone plan.

How did you involve the new specialists?

It was important to me that Mr. Bürger and Mr. Stutzer talk to Mr. Peranovic on an equal footing about the futuredirection of the company andthe underlying figures. To this end, they first acquired some basic knowledge in ourseminar program and drew up a business plan with my support. This helped them to get to know the services for the customer groups targeted by the company even better. During the analysis, we used personas, among other things. This method helps to describe the needs and wishes of the customer groups. I was impressed by how well Mr. Stutzer and Mr. Bürger got involved and delivered very good results.

What was the starting position of the potential successors?

The challenge lay in the fact that the young professionals were also planning a family and buying their own home in addition to reorienting their careers. This naturally put a strain on private liquidity. A solution therefore had to be found as to how the plan could be realized with little equity.

It really wasn't an easy situation - how did the case end?

That's true - but I always enjoy challenging consulting projects. For a successful outcome, everyone has to work well together. Thanks to their good preparatory work - and cooperation with tax consultants and banks - this was actually possible.

As a result, a joint holding company was founded, which was even able to take over another electrical engineering company that had run into difficulties. Eight jobs were saved in this way. In my view, it was an absolute success story for all sides.

This is certainly not the norm. Why can such plans fail?

In my view, a common problem is that the sellers often do too little, particularly in the case of traditional company successions, so that the successors are overwhelmed. I doubt that such an approach on the sales side will lead to success.

How important is the topic of company succession?

In my view, the topic is highly relevant. By 2035, the number of companies whose managers will reach retirement age will increase significantly. Surveys by the Institute for SME Research in Bonn show that In the years 2018 to 2022, 146,400 companies were affected nationwide (14,000 of them in Lower Saxony). By 2026, the forecast is 190,500 companies (17,400 of them in Lower Saxony).

We can only urge companies to address the issue of company succession.

We are happy about every company that we can support with our succession advice.