Advice to business owners is always – plan your exit from the business well in advance. Groom the business to maximise its saleability and value. Choose the timing with care.
Unfortunately, this is not always appropriate or possible. In those circumstances, if we are asked to sell a business we will, of course, present the business in the best light and get the best price the market will pay.
However, if you have time, ideally perhaps a couple of years or more, various improvements to your business may reap rich rewards when you come to sell. This may involve not just improving the trading figures but also a range of other factors. In order to get the best deal you need to try to reduce the level of risk being faced by the buyer when taking over your business. This is best done with a clear plan and specific objectives – not just an imprecise intention to improve the business and put it on the market in, say, eighteen months time!
Beardsley Theobalds has established a joint initiative in order to deal specifically with the issue of enhancing a business’s saleability and value. It is operated by Colin Spencer Halsey, a very experienced and successful businessman who has spent recent years working in the area of business development and exit strategy. This service operates under the name Beardsley Confidential Portfolio.
Of course, where it is appropriate, Beardsley Theobalds will later be pleased to handle the sale of the business, but this is not a requirement. If it is deemed more appropriate to use another agent, for example if the business is not one of the types of business we normally handle, that is not a problem. The development work and the subsequent selling of the business are separate activities – though, of course, they would be co-ordinated if Beardsley Theobalds may eventually be instructed to sell the business.
Want to discuss this idea? Call Roger Mundy on 01392 253071
