32% of companies in Spain are led by executives aged over 55, while in Italy 10.7% have owners aged over 70.
Legal services and business internationalisation firm Agora Iuris and independent financial advisory boutique Rhombus, specialising in M&A and corporate investment and advisory services, have reached an agreement to form a joint venture dedicated to helping senior-led businesses in Italy and Spain secure their continuity once their owners retire, through buy-sell transactions that guarantee the ongoing operation of those companies.
Rhombus, headquartered in Spain, brings to this alliance its years of experience in M&A transactions. Formaitalia, based in Milan, has extensive expertise in business establishment processes in Italy. Both boutique firms add to their specialist knowledge their own first-hand experience in growth, internationalisation, and the pursuit of partnerships and new markets.
Through this alliance, Agora Iuris and Rhombus aim to help businesses achieve continuity, to unlock the capital value built over a lifetime of professional endeavour, and to do so not only within Spain or Italy but across a broader market with many shared characteristics. Their expectation is to close 2026 having completed the first 50 transactions, with a particular focus on the industrial, agri-food, retail and tourism sectors.
A growing need
In both Italy and Spain, the baby boom generation is approaching retirement age, and both countries have economies dominated by SMEs where, in many cases, this trend is leading to forced business closures or to uncertainty about how to ensure the continuity of a business.
Official data indicate that in Spain there are 557,034 business owners aged 55 or above, meaning that 32% of companies with one or more employees may be in a position to sell.
In Italy, 10.7% of business owners are over 70 years of age. According to UnionCamere-InfoCamere data, this represents 314,824 companies.
Two similar countries, a market with greater opportunities
Faced with the need of more than one million small business owners to transfer their businesses, both Agora Iuris and Rhombus have developed a business valuation methodology for succession purposes. Following an initial assessment, a search process is carried out to identify interested parties in both Spain and Italy, and a tailored sale structure is drawn up to suit each specific situation, rather than following a standardised, parametric approach.
For Soly Sakal, CEO of Rhombus Global Consulting: “There are currently not only many businesses for sale, but also many investors seeking opportunities. We work hard to align the interests of the owner who wishes to sell with market reality, in order to find the most satisfactory offer possible.”
Alfredo Izquierdo, CEO of Agora Iuris, adds: “Being able to operate across two markets as similar, close-knit and extensive at SME level as the Spanish and Italian markets broadens both the chances of success and the speed with which transactions can be managed.”