Selling your business

Beside you as you make your exit

When you’ve decided to sell your business, you’ll naturally want to get the best price.

We can advise you on what’s likely to affect your sale price – and help you take steps to achieve the most favourable figure.

Most importantly, we do all we can to make selling your business as simple as possible, minimising the impact of the sale process on the business.

A proven procedure

We break the process down into stages, and work with you every step of the way:

Establishing an exit plan

Ideally, you’ll want to plan your exit from your business several years in advance. However, according to research we conducted survey over 400 business leaders, only 24% of UK business leaders have an exit strategy in place. This indicates a big opportunity for SMEs to improve their long-term planning. We can help ensure the decisions you make now will benefit you as you move towards exit.

Preparing for sale

To get your business ‘sale ready’, we can advise you on maximising its value and making it attractive to potential investors. We carry out an in-depth analysis of your current position, before putting a plan into action to optimise performance and ‘polish’ the business – locking in revenue and management, enhancing your brand and reducing debt.

Fine-tuning your approach

Once we get to know your company, we pinpoint any problem areas and help you decide how best to approach potential buyers. We can carry out independent valuations and develop professional marketing collateral that presents your business in the best light.

Researching potential buyers

We research suitable buyers, using a variety of methods – including M&A transaction and corporate intelligence databases, web-based research, and our extensive national and international professional networks.

Marketing

Alerting potential buyers is obviously vital. We send out personalised teasers to specific targets to identify interest, and take care of the necessary non-disclosure agreements.

Negotiating

We can help you consider indicative offers, select preferred bidders, and meet with interested parties. We can also help you negotiate heads of terms, and make sure potential buyers have adequate funding and the access they need to carry out due diligence.

Handling due diligence, legal and completion

Once you’ve chosen a buyer, we support you as you finalise the deal, ensuring all paperwork, legal documents and tax forms are completed and submitted to the proper authorities.

As you can see, forward planning is the secret of success. To ensure the right outcome, we suggest you talk to our strategic corporate finance team at least two years before the sale.