Deciding to or needing to sell your business is one of the most difficult decisions to make and often the most daunting for people to undertake.
RMT’s dedicated team of corporate finance specialists can assist you with planning the sale of your business and help to demystify the process, thus removing some of the uncertainties.
Our team will project manage the process from start to completion to ensure as much of the stress is taken away as possible. We will also be able to introduce you to experience tax advisers who can assist you to ensure that your tax affairs both corporate and personal are in order during and after the process.
As a personal decision, it is vital to ensure that you surround yourself with people who can help, not just your advisers but also your friends, family and fellow shareholders or directors. Trying to make the decision to sell on your own will be very difficult.
Maximising value
One of the first questions that you need to ask yourself is how can you maximise the value in your business and unlock its potential? Ensuring your business is structurally sound and performing well is crucial.
Our team can help you identify the key areas where value can be found in your business by carryout a strategic review of your business and a valuation.
Remember that maximising value may not always involve accepting the highest offer for you business as there maybe other considerations which have “value” even if not monetary.
Grooming your business
Grooming your business will involve identifying issues, which may need to be address before you embark on the sale process.
For example:
- If you are the key sales person for the business do you need to train someone up to take over from you or will you have to remain with the business when it is sold?
- Are your financial systems efficient?
- Are your audits and tax bills up to date?
These are all questions that you will need to have answer positively in order to ensure the highest possible price is achieved for your business.
We can help you with assessing your business and its value as well as providing invaluable guidance in terms of areas to focus on before undertaking the sale, this grooming stage is very important but often overlooked.
Selling document
The next stage will be to prepare an information memorandum (click here for contents of information memorandum), which will be a key selling document and will ensure all potential purchasers have not only sufficient information to make an informed decision, but also consistent information.
The document must be balanced so as not to create problems which could be later identified in the buyers due diligence of your businesses, whilst also highlighting the businesses attributes and future in the market.
During the drafting of the information memorandum we will research and prepare a comprehensive list of potential purchasers for your business. These may not just be trade buyers but also individuals or financial institutions with interests in your market.
Potential purchasers
Our team’s expertise and contacts throughout the UK and internationally provides an extensive network through which to find your most suitable partner / purchaser. We ensure we pursue all possible opportunities home and abroad, as the most attractive offer may not necessarily come from the obvious place.
From this point in the process onwards negotiations with the potential purchaser and project management of the other parties i.e. lawyers / banks etc… are crucial to the smooth running of any transaction.
Our team have all had extensive experience in negotiating disposals on behalf of clients. Having identified the shortlist of potential purchasers we would seek to reach a position with one which satisfied your objectives (price etc) and with whom you could enter into heads of agreement and a period of exclusivity.
It is now time to instruct your lawyers if you have not already. If you do not have a relationship with a firm that has experience in selling businesses we would be able to introduce you to a number who have experience in your market.
Due diligence
The potential purchaser will wish to undertake a thorough due diligence review on your business, which will involve investigating the financial, operational and legal position of the company. We will help manage this process, which will could be a carried out by an independent team advising the purchaser.
Our transaction support team carries out due diligence exercises for our banks, venture capitalists and acquisitive clients, please see their pages for details of what to expect.
Due diligence is over and the finishing post is in sight. The legal documentation will have started during the due diligence phase and will involve many meetings with the legal team. We will be project managing the process and attend the meetings with the lawyers.
Completion
The completion date will arrive when all parties have agreed on legal documentation and terms on which the deal has been struck. A number of points often get left to the last completion meeting though we will aim to keep these to a minimum.
Completion will bring with it a range of other considerations you will have to deal with not least what you will do with all that free time you have. After a well-earned holiday possibly it is time to think about buying a new business!
