Selling A Business The Right Way

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Numbers are everything when it comes to selling a business. Weak numbers and weak controls will undermine your target sale price every time.

Your prospective buyers must be absolutely certain that the numbers they are being presented are 100 per cent dependable.

Anything less can make your buyers very jittery, affecting the sale price – even when you know that the company you’re selling them is a great business opportunity.

All it takes is one uncertain number and your buyers will begin to question some of the other data you have given them – regardless of how good those figures appeared to them first time around.

M&A advisor Shield Corporate Finance is expert in helping directors to overcome the numerical pitfalls that can impact on the sale of a company.

Selling Your Business? Here is Shield’s five-point checklist:

•    Obscure financial history. Personal expenses put through the business can make it more difficult to gauge its true performance. Repay any expenses than may have gone beyond strict commercial needs.
•    Weak financial controls – poor budgeting and cash flow controls in the past will leave your financial projections for the future open to doubt.
•    Mediocre management information systems – it is absolutely essential that your company has the right systems in place to provide accurate and timely indications of how it is performing.
•    Inadequate legal protection makes buyers very nervous. They will be very concerned that customers and suppliers may suddenly decide not to abide by previous verbal understandings once the business changes hands. They will also be on the lookout for any contract terms that refer to ‘change of control’, along with any signs of insufficient protection of the company’s intellectual property.
•    Inadequate tax planning – review this early. Some tax minimisation arrangements can take time to put in place.

Shield’s expert M&A advisors work with companies that have operating profits exceeding £500,000. Their services include selling a business, business valuation and preparing a business for sale.

For further help, please contact Shield’s Founder and Chief Executive Dr David Young, +44 (0) 20 7031 8265.

Related articles

• Your Guide to Selling a Business (fitbiztools.com)
• Business Consultant – Methods to Contemplate When Selling Your Business (dohertyassoc.com)
• The acquisition landscape has changed – are you ready? (venturebeat.com)
• 3 Vital Steps to Selling Your Business (smallbizbee.com)
• Exit Strategies for Business Partners (thinkup.waldenu.edu)

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