The Krymax Observatory.
Our reading of the data that matters for those who lead business and capital — verified figures, cited sources, and a proprietary index.
The 2026 data tells one story: value is created — or eroded — on direction, not on capital. We gather the evidence that matters for funds, family offices and owner-led companies, read it with our method, and distil it into an index. Not opinions: numbers, sources, implications.
2026 evidence, verified and attributed to source.
Seven findings reshaping value creation in the mid-market — from authoritative public sources, verified.
From finance to operations
For 2010–2022 buyout deals, 59% of returns came from leverage and multiple expansion, not operational improvement. With expensive leverage and flat multiples, value is now created operationally.
Source: McKinsey & Company — Bridging private equity's value creation gap (2024) →The bar has doubled
In the low-rate decade, ~5% annual EBITDA growth was enough for a 2.5x MOIC over 5 years. Now, without leverage and multiples, you need 10–12%. Operations are central.
Source: Bain & Company — Global Private Equity Report 2026 →Two in three transformations fail
Across ~900 transformations, only 30% met their value targets with lasting change. The other 70% fell short. The gap is not strategy — it is execution.
Source: Boston Consulting Group — Flipping the Odds of Digital Transformation Success (2020) →The largest wealth transfer in history
By 2048, $124 trillion will change hands ($105T to heirs, $18T to charity) — a transition that tests governance and continuity (US figure).
Source: Cerulli Associates — U.S. High-Net-Worth Markets 2024 →Nearly half without a succession plan
Only 53% of family offices globally have a formalized family succession plan. Wealth is moving faster than the governance meant to protect it.
Source: UBS — Global Family Office Report 2025 →Gulf capital turns to Europe
Gulf sovereign wealth funds manage almost $6 trillion (over 40% of the world total); in the first 9 months of 2025, 28% of their deployment went to Europe — the highest in over five years.
Source: Deloitte (Global SWF); Semafor / Global SWF (2025) →The mid-market lags on AI
In 2025 only 20% of EU enterprises (10+ staff) use AI: 17% of small firms versus 55% of large ones. Adoption is rising, but the size gap is the mid-market's real lag.
Source: Eurostat — Use of artificial intelligence in enterprises (2025) →The Krymax Direction-Readiness Index
A proprietary framework to measure how ready a company, a portfolio company or a family office is to turn strategy into results. Five dimensions, one score.
Strategic clarity
Defined direction, explicit priorities, disciplined capital allocation.
Governance maturity
Bodies, delegations and checks; separation of ownership and management.
Execution discipline
KPIs, cadence and accountability for the numbers; plans with milestones.
Succession readiness
A plan for decision-makers, family rules, preparation of the next generation.
AI adoption with method
AI tied to objectives and processes, not a perpetual pilot; data governance.
Each dimension is scored from 0 (absent) to 4 (excellent); the total out of 20 places the company in four bands — Fragile, Developing, Solid, Excellent — each with a reading and a direction of work. An interactive version lives in the Tools section.
What separates a low score from a high one, dimension by dimension.
| 0–1 | 3–4 | |
| Strategic clarity | Implicit priorities; capital allocated by inertia. | Explicit direction; allocation disciplined on return. |
| Governance maturity | Centralised decisions, no checks and balances. | Clear bodies and delegations; ownership and management separated. |
| Execution discipline | Plans without KPIs; no cadence. | KPIs, milestones and accountability for the numbers. |
| Succession readiness | No plan; reliance on a single person. | A plan for decision-makers; the next generation prepared. |
| AI adoption with method | A perpetual pilot, no impact. | AI tied to objectives, processes and data governance. |
A proprietary index to measure a mid-market company's value-creation health across six observable dimensions. Score 0–100, weighted. Transparent methodology: each dimension is assessed on verifiable proxies (resolutions, bodies, KPIs, structure).
Strategic clarity20%
Priority objectives defined, measurable and resolved
Governance maturity20%
Active bodies, independents, tracked delegations and controls
Execution discipline20%
Plan with owners, milestones, KPIs and periodic follow-up
Succession readiness15%
Formalized plan, successor in preparation, pacts
AI adoption15%
Use cases in production with measured impact on efficiency/margin
Capital efficiency10%
Allocation, working capital and return on invested capital
Krymax Observatory — a synthesis of authoritative public sources (cited), updated 2026. Primary surveys of a mid-market and family-office panel are being launched.
The 2026 dynamics read country by country — in each market's native terms and data.
Italy + Ticino
Temporary & fractional management: in 2026, 49% of roles are part-time, with a tax incentive for SMEs. Generational handover at the centre.
Source: INIMA · Il Sole 24 ORE
DACH — German-speaking CH · Germany · Austria
Unternehmensnachfolge: ~186,000 companies changing hands 2026-2030 in Germany (57% of owners over 55); ~12,000 SMEs a year in Switzerland. Interim Management as the lever.
Source: KfW · IFJ · Robert Walters
French-speaking Switzerland · France
Management de transition and business transmission: a wave of disposals by 2030; Geneva a family-office hub (+12% AUM in 2024).
Source: France Transition · PwC Suisse
International / global
Private equity: operational value creation has replaced financial engineering; over 50% of mid-market portfolio companies run AI initiatives.
Source: McKinsey · EY · FTI
This first edition synthesises the public 2026 evidence — sources cited — read with the Krymax method. The Direction-Readiness Index is our proprietary assessment instrument: we apply it within mandates and collect the results, in aggregate and anonymous form, to build — edition after edition — a sector benchmark for funds, family offices and Italo-Swiss SMEs. Participation is by invitation and confidential.
Measure your direction-readiness.
Request a confidential assessment with the Krymax Index.
Confidential discussion