Selling a Business

Selling all but the smallest of businesses is quite probably the biggest financial transaction in your lifetime. It is also fraught with potential risk, so it pays to seek experienced professional advice.

If you are contemplating a business sale as part of your retirement plans it is important to prepare the business for sale well in advance. You should consider:

  • Selling/ extracting non-core business assets
  • Eliminating non-business expenses
  • Reducing the business' dependance on you
  • Secure the key employees
  • Ensure your paperwork is up-to-date and available for a prospective purchaser to see 
  • Ensure your information systems are up-to-date and fit for purpose
  • Tidy and smarten your business premises and other assets

We can support and advise you in this . We can also assist and advise in the sale process:

  • Value the business
  • Prepare a Sales Memorandum to show to interested parties
  • Market the business
  • Conduct Vendor due dilligence on prospective purchasers
  • Obtain confidentiality undertakings from prospective purchases
  • Handle and negotiate offers for the business
  • Prepare Heads of Agreement
  • Support the purchaser's due dilligence enquiries
  • Advise and assist with the sale contract and disclosure letter
  • Support any post-completion commitments
To discuss matters relating to business sales, please get in touch with our Consultant (James Eyre-Walker) or our General Practice Director (Scott Cadman)on 01782 848838 or email us using the link below.

 

For a flavour of what we do download our deals register.

 

Case Study

F Ltd was a small profitable engineering company with four otherwise unconnected shareholder/ directors wanting to retire and with no family succession. Its turnover was £650,000 generating profits of £58,000 or £90,000 when adjusted for excess remuneration. We spent some time preparing the business for sale, making it as attractive a proposition as possible. We valued the business, prepared a Sale Memorandum and marketed the business. The preferred purchaser had limited funds. We extracted the company's property by means of a dividend in specie and leased it back to the purchaser. The business sold for £500,00 with net assets of £200,000. The price multiple was 3.3 on adjusted earnings in addition to which the shareholders owned the property.

 

You should be aware that some (but not all) aspects of corporate finance work are regulated under our Designated Profession Body (''DPB'') authorisation. Full details of this can be found on our Regulatory Information page.