Background information

Initiated and implemented by the Chambers of commerce and industry and Chambers of craft trades, Transenterprise is a platform for business transfers which offers a package of services to buyers and sellers of companies. The coordinator of the network is the Chamber of commerce of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The measure seeks to raise awareness of entrepreneurs of the need to anticipate and prepare the sale of their business.

Content of measure

The measure seeks to raise awareness of entrepreneurs of the need to anticipate and prepare the sale of their business. Guidelines on business transfers are published on the website. Further guidance is offered through access to a network of 400 technical advisers in the Chambers of commerce and industry and Chambers of craft trades and 2,000 notaries, lawyers, chartered accountants and real estate agents. Workshops and network activities such as meetings and exhibitions are also organised.

Users can search by economic sector and activity, depending on the type of company (very small businesses or SMEs). Other search options include turnover, number of staff, price, and location of the company within the 11 regions. The publication of an offer (including support for drafting it) requires a €150 fee while access to the database is free for potential buyers. 

Use of measure

From 1985 to 2019, 119,000 offers were published on the platform and 46,300 companies were sold, mainly very small or small enterprises, with a success rate of 38.9%. In 2019, the number of offers published amounted to 6,535 resulting in 1,562 businesses been sold. Sectors most covered are respectively hotels and restaurants (23.5% of the offers), services to individuals (18.3%) and food trade (14.5%). The businesses to be taken over had an average workforce of 3.9 people, representing nearly 24,000 jobs. The website benefits from 50,000 visits per month on average. On average, each month, 270 buyers create an account on the site. There were 6,720 offers published on the website in June 2020.

It facilitates business transfers and increases exposure of both sellers and buyers. Due to its regional dimension it promotes business transfers at a regional level.

However, buyers and sellers may have opposite wishes for disclosure of information on the platform. Some older owners selling off their businesses may be less inclined to use the online tools offered on this platform. 

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government	Employers organisation Local funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 15 December 2013: European Commission (2006), Markets for Business Transfers, Fostering Transparent Marketplaces for the Transfer of Businesses in Europe, Report of the Expert Group, Brussels, European Commission (ec.europa.eu)
• 01 March 2020: Transentreprise presentation (2020) (www.transentreprise.com)
• 01 February 2022: Transentreprise brochure (www.transentreprise.com)
• 18 November 2022: Transentreprise website (www.transentreprise.com)