The sectors that buyers avoid in 2025
Introduction
The business transfer market in Switzerland offers numerous opportunities, but not all sectors are equal. Certain activities concentrate structural risks that discourage informed buyers: incomplete digital transformation, eroding margins, critical dependencies or heavy investments to anticipate.
In 2025, risky acquisition sectors often share common characteristics: weakened business models, intense competition, or vulnerability to technological and behavioural changes. For an entrepreneur investing their capital and energy, identifying these areas of fragility becomes essential.
This article analyses six categories of activities that buyers generally avoid, and explains why. The objective is not to demonise these sectors, but to understand their specific challenges. Some businesses in these areas may represent good opportunities if the buyer has the skills, capital and appropriate strategy. But caution is required.
Understanding the dynamics of the transfer market allows you to refine your search and focus your efforts on more solid opportunities. Discover the sectors to approach with caution and the evaluation criteria to prioritise before committing.
📌 Summary (TL;DR)
Certain sectors present structural risks that deter buyers in 2025: traditional retail trade facing e-commerce, traditional catering with compressed margins, activities in technological decline, industries requiring heavy investments, and businesses dependent on a single client or supplier. These fragilities do not make all acquisitions impossible, but require rigorous analysis of sectoral risks, the business model and the investments necessary to ensure the future viability of the business.
📚 Table of contents
Traditional retail trade
Traditional physical shops and stores are among the risky acquisition sectors in 2025. Competition from e-commerce, low margins and high rents discourage buyers. The necessary digitalisation represents a significant investment without guarantee of success.
Generalist shops without a clear positioning suffer particularly. In contrast, niche shops with a loyal customer base or strong specialisation remain attractive. Before acquiring, analyse the model's capacity to adapt to new consumer habits.
Consult the companies for sale to identify the sectors available on the transfer market.
Traditional catering
Traditional restaurants deter many buyers despite their presence on the transfer market. Long hours, tight margins and dependence on qualified staff constitute major obstacles. Sensitivity to economic cycles and health constraints reinforce this mistrust.
High fixed costs (rent, staff, raw materials) leave little room for manoeuvre. Profitability depends heavily on location and concept. Restaurants with an innovative positioning, an established clientele or a high-performing delivery model stand out positively.
Evaluate the resilience of the business model before any acquisition decision.
Sectors in technological decline
Activities threatened by technological obsolescence are among the risky acquisition sectors. Traditional printing works, conventional travel agencies and paper media struggle to attract buyers. These models without a digital pivot see their market gradually shrink.
Services replaced by automated digital solutions face constant pressure. Buyers avoid these sectors due to lack of growth prospects. Only businesses that have successfully completed their digital transformation or occupy a highly specialised niche retain interest.
Analysis of technological trends is essential before considering an acquisition in these areas.
Capital-intensive industries
Sectors requiring heavy investments in machinery and infrastructure discourage buyers. Modernisation costs, complex financing and high technical risk constitute significant barriers. Heavy manufacturing industries perfectly illustrate this problem.
The need for capital to maintain competitiveness limits access to these businesses. Ageing equipment often requires costly renewal shortly after acquisition. Margins must be sufficiently high to justify these investments, which is not always the case.
A thorough financial analysis is essential to evaluate the viability of such acquisitions.
Activities dependent on a single client or supplier
Subcontracting businesses with a dominant client represent a major risk on the transfer market. The loss of this single client can compromise the entire activity. This structural vulnerability explains why buyers flee these opportunities.
Dependence on a single supplier poses similar problems: supply disruption, price increases, loss of flexibility. Buyers favour businesses with a diversified client base and several supply sources. This diversification guarantees better resilience to market uncertainties.
How to evaluate sectoral risks before acquiring
Before acquiring a business, analyse market trends over 5 to 10 years. Identify technological, regulatory and competitive threats that could affect the sector. Study the competitive structure and barriers to entry.
Consult sector experts to validate the resilience of the business model. The Leez expert network can support you in this analysis. Verify the diversification of clients and suppliers to limit concentration risks.
A structured approach maximises your chances of success. Discover our guide on where to find businesses to acquire for a comprehensive methodology.
Identifying high-risk sectors constitutes an essential step before any business acquisition. Traditional retail trade, traditional catering, industries in technological decline, capital-intensive activities and businesses dependent on a single client or supplier present significant structural challenges in 2025.
These sectors should not be systematically excluded, but they require an in-depth analysis of specific risks, solid investment capacity and often a transformation of the business model. The key lies in objective evaluation: understanding market trends, analysing the financial structure, measuring dependence on third parties and anticipating capital requirements.
Are you considering acquiring a business? Explore the opportunities available on Leez and filter by sector to identify activities that match your risk profile. Our expert network can also support you in sectoral analysis and risk evaluation.
