Optimizing Mid-Sized Businesses – Mazars Research

Please note that the following text only refers to Mazars since the analysis was done before we became Forvis Mazars on 01/06/2024. 

Mid-sized businesses are vital to Europe's economy. They deliver key products and services, and provide employment for many millions of workers. They are also a vital cog in the wider economy. They support smaller and larger enterprises, promote innovation and build long term capital value for their owners.

Mazars has supported the growth of mid-sized companies for many years, and we take a deep interest in what really drives this key segment of the market. To further our understanding, we analysed the financial data from 72,000 European mid-market companies over a four year period from 2012 to 2015, assessing them both by business model and by four key performance indicators which determine a company's long term sustainability and capital value and its profitability, return, liquidity and strength.

Our key findings include:

There is considerable variation in the performance of Europe's middle market companies, with a large gap between the best and worst performers within all business models.

The type of business model adopted, and its position in the market place, have a significant influence on a company's performance.

Most businesses have extremely low levels of liquidity.

The performance of a business can be significantly improved in the space of four years, with almost half of the poorest performing companies moving up one or two tiers over this time.

IP-owning businesses have the highest return on total assets, with the best performing companies in this category having a return on assets of at least 22 percent.

Please download our in-depth report and guides below for access to all of our findings, and our recommendations for helping mid-sized companies to achieve their full potential.