Business Sales
“With unrivalled sector knowledge, exceptional negotiation skills and a credible black book of UK and overseas investors they impressed us from start to finish.”
— Paul Gillespie, Co-founder of Gibbs Gillespie
There are several options you should look at when contemplating the sale of your business. Ideally you should have a plan in place at least 12 months before the sale takes place. Our sell-side advisors can expertly guide you through these various options and determine which will deliver the best outcome for you. A sales process may involve one or more of the following:
Sell your business to a Trade Buyer
A popular exit strategy is selling your business to another company, which is also known as a trade sale. It might be to a strategic buyer; often a company within the same industry looking for operations alignment, or to a financial buyer, which is typically a firm seeking a financial return from the acquisition. This may include direct competitors where conversations need to be handled with extreme care. Regardless of the type of buyer, we tailor a seamless sale process to help you achieve your own objectives.
Sell your business to Private Equity
Private Equity buyers accounts for a large proportion of the M&A and should always be considered when selling your business. Private Equity buyers do expect an attractive growth story that will allows them to eventually sell onwards, for a profit, to another larger trade buyer/private equity or list on a public stock exchange. Private equity funds will look at metrics such as Money Multiple and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) potential of a business when assessing the future return. Growth plans must be backed up by a strong management team in place or for the ability for the business to be bolted on to one of their already owned portfolio companies. These transactions are usually funded through a mix of equity and debt as well as vendor loan notes and/or deferred consideration.
Sell your business as part of a Management Buyout (MBO)
As part of your exit strategy, you might decide to sell your business to your management team. This is commonly referred to as a Management Buyout (MBO) and it naturally consists of many advantages, including rewarding your most loyal employees and maintaining continuity for your customers. However, the familiarity between the buyers and sellers still brings a level of risk that needs to be managed carefully, which is where we can offer our expertise to ensure a smooth and successful MBO. The transactions are typically funded by a mix of Private Equity, Debt and Vendor Loans notes and deferred consideration. For more Information on the intricacies of selling to your management team please read here.
Sell your business to your employees via an Employee Ownership Trust
An Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is ideal if you are looking for a planned exit transferring ownership to your employees and benefitting from a significant tax relief meaning the asking price can be reduced whilst you still receiving the same net proceeds after tax. The transactions are largely funded through a deferred consideration structure as well as Vendor Loan Notes and Debt. For more information on the intricacies of EOT please read here.
Sell your business to the public by Listing on a stock exchange
Listing on a stock exchange such as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange Is an authorised activity. This is not an area we can advise on but are happy to recommend you to an appropriate advisor.
How we can help you with selling your business:
Exit Strategy & Value Creation
If you haven’t quite got all the details down in your exit plan, we will help you finalise your exit strategy before we dive into the sale process. This includes defining your goals and critically assessing your business, to make sure that it is in a strong position and ready for the trade sale ahead.
We will critically evaluate all available business sale options (selling to trade, private equity, management (MBO), employee via an EOT or listing on a public stock exchange) and determine which one will give you the best valuation and outcome as well as the appropriate timing for any transaction.
As part of our Business Exit Planning service, we will also advise on how you can create more value, whether it’s through branding, service development or making processes more efficient to boost productivity and improve operating functions.
Next, we will work closely with you to produce an exceptional Information Memorandum, Data Room and Financial Model, ready for the potential buyers that we identify.
Identify Suitable Buyers
A key recipe to our success in finding suitable buyers is the ability to leverage our team's global network of relationships, coupled with deep sector knowledge to identify which buyer will deliver a strategic premium. An international reach of buyers and vendors and an intimate knowledge of transaction requirements also enables us to give you first-class services, from valuation and market insights to tools and tactics required for a tricky negotiation.
We get on with doing the deal, anticipating and managing the risks and challenges on your behalf, allowing you to safely continue running your business.
End-to-End Transaction Management
At the heart of driving the value of your business upwards and ultimately delivering the best offer Is our ability to build competitive tension through careful structured management of the sales process. We are your lead advisor delegated to deliver a positive deal outcome.
To move forward with the chosen buyer, our team will support you at all stages of the transaction. This includes managing all the necessary parties on your behalf, all negotiations and due diligence requirements. We will ensure that any issues are overcome as early as possible.
Rest assured; your interests will be protected throughout and we will manage your lawyers when drafting the Sale and Purchase Agreement and ancillary documents as well as coordinating with tax specialists to maximise tax efficiencies and minimise any risks. As a result, you will feel confident that we have secured the best deal including all the detailed terms of the offer.
Contact us
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FAQs
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Our fees vary depending on the scope of the engagement. Our corporate finance related fees tend to have a large component which is based on the success of a transaction completing. Our strategy advice fees are normally charged as monthly retainer fees or charged on an ad hoc time basis. Our fees are always tailored to your specific needs, ensuring we are completely aligned.
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Because the devil is in the detail and our team are senior level deal doers who have managed hundreds of sale processes and know how to expertly guide business owners through the most important transaction of their lives. It is one thing to find a buyer and a whole other ball game to negotiate the best price on the best terms. We have negotiated with some of the world's biggest buyers and know what they are looking for and how to overcome pitfalls, always staying ahead of the game. We will sit down with you and plan how best to maximise your business' value and be fully prepared before kicking off the sales process. We will be available to you the whole way throughout the transaction whether that is late at night or at the weekend whatever it takes to get the deal across the line.
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Depending on the quality of information provided and the complexity of the deal, a sale can take anywhere between six weeks and six months. The timing will also be driven by whether you are selling to a trade buyer, a private equity firm or to your management team or your employees via an EOT.
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When selling to another business, you’re more likely to have a ‘cleaner’ exit, with the option to exit the business completely, after an initial handover period. Your employees might also receive greater career opportunities and you don’t have to think about retaining your management, as you would for a Management Buyout, for example. Additionally, you’re more likely to secure a premium for your business, particularly if demand is high with multiple potential buyers.
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Depending on your business and the sale itself, it might be that the buyer decides to centralise some of the functions, which means redundancies are likely to happen. This can have a negative impact on the performance of employees, as well as the security of sensitive information. Likewise, the buyer might also wish to align the business culture to theirs, which can pose a risk to the longevity of the company if not handled well. The sale might also have a negative effect on the value of business if it is not received well by the wider market.
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Yes, without a doubt this is a key strength we possess. With our international reach of different category of buyers from trade to private equity, along with our ability to present your business in the most professional light, we can quickly attract the right buyers for any type of business.
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If you’ve already received an offer, it's critical you know that this is best deal for you on the best terms. There is also a risk that the buyer may not have adequate financing in place and this could cause significant delays. A corporate finance advisor, like Accelve, will make sure you’ve fully assessed the offer and have expertise on board to successfully negotiate the small print whilst managing all the due diligence processes in a careful professional manner. It is almost certain the other side will have their own advisors and the process of turning an offer into a completed deal can be complex and can be derailed at any point.
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The Sale and Purchase Agreement or SPA is a legal agreement that brings together all the key commercial and pricing negotiations. There is a significant amount of work and negotiations required between the purchaser and seller all looking to exploit as much value.
Our team will support you at all stages of a transaction from pre-deal work to identify and agree commercial and pricing issues, right through to post-completion support to execute any particular SPA completion mechanism.
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Corporate finance transactions require specialist, up-to-date knowledge, so we provide the expert advice you need to plan and execute your business exit strategy. This includes finding the best solution for you and creating the most value.
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We typically work with businesses that have a value of more than £5 million but can work with smaller high growth businesses.
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No, we are not brokers. We are professional advisors. We support our clients throughout the entire process, from developing your business case and advising on how to create more value, to finding potential buyers and managing the negotiations.
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Whilst we have specific sector knowledge as a result of the different deals we’ve made happen, we work with many different sectors, so our experience remains very diverse. This naturally means we bring unique insights to our clients, helping them to create and deliver robust business exit plans.
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Our fees vary depending on the scope of the engagement. Our corporate finance related fees tend to have a large component which is based on the success of a transaction completing. Our strategy advice fees are normally charged as monthly retainer fees or charged on an ad hoc time basis. Our fees are always tailored to your specific needs, ensuring we are completely aligned.
A selection of brands our team have worked with
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