Establishing the Seller's Needs

Above all else, the sale must meet the owner’s wants and needs.  These are likely to be primarily financial, but there will also be needs and wants relating to the timing of the sale, any owner involvement after the sale, assets to be extracted prior to the sale etc.  We will take time to explore this area to ensure that we achieve a close match to these needs and wants and that they are appropriately reflected in the Briefing Document.  Questions we need to answer include: 

• The target date range for the sale.  In our experience, owners should use a planning assumption of a minimum of 9 months from appointing advisers to completing a sale.
• The financial sum required to meet the owner’s financial needs.  The owner must separately take advice from an accountant on the tax implications of the sale as these are often significant.
• If the owner is working in the business, does he/she wish to leave the business immediately (after handover) or would he/she prefer to stay on in some capacity?  Buyers will often welcome on-going input from the owner, for instance, in a part-time consultancy or non-executive director capacity.

Depending on the length of time before a sale is required, there will be actions that the owner can take to make the sale process smoother and, in some cases, increase the attractiveness and therefore the value of the business.  As specialist business brokers, we expect to assist owners in this area whether the plan is to sell as soon as possible or in 5 years time.  Our pages on Exit Planning addresses some of these points for vendors who plan to wait before placing their business on the market.

The next stage is the creation of the Confidential Briefing Document.

To start the conversation about selling a business, please Contact Us or call us on 02476 100476 for an informal chat in complete confidence.