On this Thursday, June 13, 2024, Altares publishes its study on sales and transfers of business assets. Last year, the number of transactions amounted to 30,920 in 2023, a decrease of 2.5% compared to 2022. “ 10.6 billion euros : this is the cumulative amount of business transactions in France in 2023. Nearly a third of this figure is carried by only around fifty atypical operations, but it is still revealing of the weight of the financing necessary to bring this to fruition projects “, comments Thierry Millon, director of Altares studies.
Supermarkets: sharp increase in transactions
There restoration still accounts for a quarter of business takeovers. If bakers And hairdressers remain in the top 5 activities where the most exchanges take place, they show a very significant decline.
Far from the leaders, the supermarkets with 312 disposals nevertheless sign the largest increase in the number of transactions (+18.2 %). They are ahead of car dealerships which recorded 305 operations (+17.3%).
Increase in average prices
Supermarkets also recorded the strongest increase in the average sale price: +133%. “The reorganization of the multi-department retail sector has led to a doubling of the average selling price of supermarkets, which now also exceeds one million euros,” notes Thierry Millon. Pharmacies maintain the highest average selling price at nearly €1.3 million, an increase of 8.6%. All sectors combined, the average sale price of business assets reached a peak in 2022 and amounted to over €215,000. This record will be largely beaten in 2023 and crosses the €244,000 mark. Please note, the clothing trade shows a sharp increase in its average sale price (+ 34.7%), now standing at €159,000 after an increase of 25% in 2022.
Dynamics 2024
At the start of 2024, there are numerous transactions. “Despite very slow economic growth in 2023 compared to 2022, the business transfer market remains above its five-year average volume (30,920 vs. 28,800). The start of 2024 confirms the appeal of this mode of creation, and sometimes of external growth. More than 8,000 businesses changed hands during the first three months, which is 2% more than a year ago. The average price remains above €240,000 thanks to ever more expensive sales of supermarkets, continues Thierry Million. Restaurant owners are in the green, at the cost of an effort on the amount negotiated while the bakery remains poorly oriented in terms of volume and valuation. If the latter had gained, unlike the former, its status as an essential activity during the health crisis, the situation has since become very tense under the cumulative effects of the increase in raw materials, energy and consumption of households in decline. »
