HELPING YOU ACHIEVE BETTER DEALS

Your starting point for selling or buying a UK business

​£5m+ in turnover? You need to find the
"hidden" talent that can obtain a far better price.

Use a broker? Which one? Do a DIY
sale? How? Your questions answered.​

​​Whether it's your first acquisition or your 10th,
play it smart and get in touch.

YOUR FIRST STOP FOR STRATEGIC ADVICE​

1. FINDING THE BROKER WHO CAN GET YOU THE BEST DEAL

(best suited to businesses with turnover of at least £5m or EBITDA of £500K. Smaller businesses, please see here.)
We'll find you the right broker talent

Why do you need our help? You can find a broker yourself, surely? Unfortunately, ​you'll likely end up with an "easy to find" broker most of whom have dismal success rates (less than 10%, despite what they tell you on the phone!).

For example KBS, the UK's ​largest broker, earn most of their money from the sign-on fees, not from commission on the successful sale of businesses (​as per their public declarations)! ​On the other hand, there are 1,000 "hidden" brokers in the UK, some exceptionally good at what they do. The trouble is that you can't find the good ones on your own.

​We can find you the business broker...

  • ​Who has the highest probability of achieving a sale for your business​;​
  • ​Who's best placed to get your particular business top price; ​
  • ​Who's best suited to the size of your business & your specific exit goals​;
  • Who best understands your market / industry, has many buyers looking for acquisitions in ​your industry;
  •  Who is best matched to the kind of deal you need (trade sale / Management Buy Out / public listing / private equity investment / something else altogether).

WHY IS IT THAT 97% OF BUSINESSES, AND YOU, WILL PROBABLY END UP WITH THE WRONG BROKER?​

​BUT, SURELY,  ALL BROKERS DO THE SAME THING, DON'T THEY?

​​HOW DO WE FIND YOU THE TALENT THAT CAN GET YOU THE BEST TERMS?

​HOW DO WE SAVE YOU TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS IN FEES?

SO, HOW MUCH WILL YOU HAVE TO PAY US​?

​WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU ENGAGE OUR SERVICES?

​2. HOW TO SELL A SMALLER BUSINESS? (under £5m turnover)​

Turnover of £2m to £5m​

Most of the UK's top business brokers don't take on businesses that have a turnover of less than £5m. And you really need one of these brokers handling your sale if you want to maximise the price you obtain.

We regularly get turned down by these brokers when trying to place clients in the £2m - £5m bracket. It's only the KBS, National, Intelligent​ and other  pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap brokers who entertain any and every business.​

But quality brokers do make exceptions if your net profit or adjusted net profit figures are good. ​They also make exceptions where there's strong intellectual property or other attribute that supports value.

Set up a free consultation and confidential call with us to discuss your options and get unbiased advice. Get in touch.

Turnover of £500K - £2m

If your business has a turnover of less than £2 million, or a net profit of less than £200K, it generally does not make sense to use a business broker. There are far better options.

​Using a broker would seem the obvious choice but​please read our reasoning here​ as to why brokers are not right for your business.

There are other options available to you including an option to sell the business yourself and what's called an Assisted DIY. Get in touch to set up a free and confidential phone call.

Turnover of  under £500K

What most business brokers won't tell you is that over 95% of under £500K businesses that go to market do not find a buyer!

There are four main obstacles to selling businesses of this size and we cover them here. And ​here's the truth about selling micro businesses that business brokers won't tell you.

If you'd still like to talk about selling your business and realise that brokers at this end of the market are generally not very reputable, we do offer a paid by the hour consultancy.

​Our consultancy covers all your selling related question.

You can also get help with: ​​

​ASSISTANCE FOR BUYERS / ACQUIRERS

I'VE FOUND A TARGET TO BUY

If you're a funded buyer, get help to:

  • Assess the opportunity;
  • Have someone approach the vendor on your behalf to protect your anonymity (and improve the chances of a reply); 
  • Determine a fair price (or assess the vendor's asking price);
  • ​Negotiate the deal and structure it to your advantage​;
  • ​Find funders for a capital shortfall and
  • Deal with other aspects of the acquisition.

Funded* buyers only, please! Get in touch.
*Not those looking to "buy a business for £1" or "buy a business with no money down".

I'M LOOKING FOR A TARGET

If you still haven't found a business to buy, get

  • General advice in relation to deciding your criteria and how to find ​the right acquisition targets;
  • ​​Help, strategic advice, hand holding through the whole process;
  • ​Introduction to a buy-side broker​ (if you wish someone else to do the deal sourcing for you); 
  • ​Assistance with negotiation and / or due diligence​

Funded* buyers only, please! Get in touch.
*Not those looking to "buy a business for £1" or "buy a business with no money down".

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