Understand business transfer,
before you live it

Guides, market analyses and data for owners preparing to transfer their business.

All Employee ownership About Market data Taxation Buyout Business transfer Family transfer Valuation PDF guides Videos

A team gathered around a work table, seen through a glass partition.

Market data 5 min May 2026

33,000 SMEs for sale: what the data reveals about the market

Technician working on an industrial electrical cabinet.

Family transfer 4 min March 2026

Why children do not take over the family business

Overhead view of an SME's warehouse: racks loaded with cardboard boxes and yellow order-picking bins.

Family transfer 4 min March 2026

My child wants to take over the business but has no funds: what to do

Three people around a laptop in an automotive prototyping workshop.

Market data 4 min March 2026

SME EBITDA multiples: where valuations really stand

Aerial view of an industrial SME's site: the buildings, stock and teams a buyout must preserve.

Buyout 4 min March 2026

MBO, MBI, BIMBO: three ways to buy out an SME

An SME owner-manager and her daughter, side by side, outdoors.

Family transfer 3 min January 2026

Intra-family transfer: what it is, and what it demands

Central aisle of an SME's warehouse: racks of palletised boxes and storage bins, seen from above.

Family transfer 3 min January 2026

Passing your business on to your children: method, financing, tax

SME owner-manager, arms crossed, in the doorway of his bookshop.

Family transfer 3 min January 2026

Family business transfer: why it is a strategic choice

Warehouse of a distribution SME: racking, inventory and order-picking bins.

Business transfer 4 min August 2025

Preparing the sale of your SME: the checklist for the last 24 months

Operator beneath a robotic arm in an industrial production workshop.

Business transfer 4 min May 2025

Business transfer: the 6 mistakes that cost the most

Workshop of an industrial SME: racks of metal profiles, workbenches and an operator at work.

Valuation 4 min May 2025

Sale price of an SME: how much is a 20-employee company worth?

An owner-manager on the phone at his laptop, in his SME's offices.

Business transfer 5 min May 2025

Who to sell your business to: a fund, an individual buyer or your employees?

Close-up of a spreadsheet: rows of figures from an accounting export, foreground in focus.

Business transfer 4 min May 2025

Selling your business to your employees: which structures, which limits

Team leader in a safety vest addressing his crew on a work site.

Employee ownership 4 min April 2025

Employee ownership in SMEs: why and how to set it up

An SME team gathered around a table to prepare the buyout.

Business transfer 3 min November 2024

Employee buyout: how it works in practice

A handshake between two people across a table, in an office.

About 3 min February 2024

PurpleShares: what our name says about our model

Employee of a logistics SME at the controls of a pallet truck in a warehouse.

Employee ownership 4 min February 2024

Employee ownership: its real effects on engagement and retention

Discover our other sections

Market data

Consolidated figures on SME transfers in France and Belgium, continuously updated.

700K: SMEs to be transferred
60%: failure rate
3M+: jobs at stake

Explore the data

Tools

Practical tools to assess your situation and structure your thinking, on your own.

Access the tools

Guides to download

Our practical guides

Reference documents designed to be read, annotated and shared with your partners.

PurpleShares 32 pages

Preparing the transfer of your SME

The reference guide: the 4 stages of the process, the people to involve and the most common mistakes.

Download the PDF

PurpleShares 4 pages

The 20 documents to gather before a business transfer

The operational checklist to build a complete file and speed up every step of the process.

Download the PDF

PurpleShares 18 pages

Transferring to your employees: shared ownership

Legal mechanisms, financing, governance: what an owner needs to know before opening up their capital.

Download the PDF