You’ve invested years building your business into the success it is today, and you’re now beginning to think about selling – where do you start?
Getting the right advice can help you plan your business sale and achieve the outcome you want. Our M&A team are here to support you through the entire selling process and help you navigate the challenges that can often arise.
Here’s our checklist of the top five points you need to consider:
- Clarify your objectives: why are you selling, how much of your business do you want to sell, what will be your role post-sale and within what timescale do you want to complete?
- Establish the true and current value of your business: sellers often overestimate the value of their business by including future plans rather than proven performance.
- Prepare for due diligence: The devil really can be in the detail – potential buyers will delve deep into your business, looking at employment matters, legal contracts, intellectual property (IP) ownership, regulatory requirements, insurance cover and claims, as well as the financials.
- Understand the deal structure: Watch out for earn-outs, working capital adjustments, deferred consideration and locked box vs completion accounts (the mechanisms for determining the final sale price). Warranty & Indemnity (W&I) insurance can help cap your personal risk and enable a cleaner exit.
- Get the right team on your side: Selling your business is a complex process and you’ll need support from a range of professionals, including a tax adviser, corporate lawyer, corporate financial adviser, as well your specialist insurance advisory team. We can connect you with our ecosystem partners to bring their expertise in areas such as tax advice, HR, financial planning and legal requirements.
Our dedicated M&A advisory team has collectively acted on over 250 UK transactions, across numerous sectors. We’re well placed to support you throughout the sale process from how to get your business deal-ready to post completion insurance and risk management solutions.
If you’re thinking about selling your business – even if at some point in the future, talk to our team today for a confidential, informal chat to find out how we can help you.