Results for Business Succession and Takeover Support Centers in FY2025: Record Highs in New Consultations and M&A Completions

The Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, JAPAN (SMRJ) (President: Tadashi Miyakawa; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has compiled the results for Business Succession and Takeover Support Centers across Japan for fiscal year 2025.

Results for FY2025

In FY2025, the number of new consultation inquiries exceeded 24,000 for the first time since the centers were established, marking a record high. The number of consultation sessions also increased, with a total of 92,509 sessions handled nationwide. In particular, inquiries regarding third-party succession (M&A) have been rising, reaching 16,322 new inquiries. Consequently, the number of M&A completions in FY2025 reached a record 2,265.

Among third-party successions, completions through the 'Successor Human Resource Bank'—which matches aspiring entrepreneurs with SMEs lacking successors—also reached a record 114. The number of new registrants (aspiring entrepreneurs) for the bank was 1,472, bringing the cumulative total to 11,547.

Driven by factors such as the aging of business owners, labor shortages, and rising costs of energy and raw materials, the number of inquiries and completions is expected to continue growing. Nationwide centers remain dedicated to addressing all succession-related concerns, including successor absence, business continuity, intra-family or employee succession methods, and M&A second opinions, to promote SME business succession and M&A.