Selling your business doesn’t have to be a nightmare, our DY team prides itself on supporting clients for the full lifecycle of their business – from the early stages, through the growth phases, and up until they want to exit the business.
But, Sarah Hartshorn, our Advisory Associate said;
“Frustratingly, business owners don’t always get the positive result they’re looking for, and the statistics on business sales are quite shocking.”
Sarah said only 400 companies were sold on average in the UK each month, and in fact, 95% of businesses were not saleable and had to be wound-up.
“This is not good news, because winding-up a business can be very costly and can take many months.”
Sarah said as members of The Corporate Finance Network, DY’s team knew from the combined experience of all member firms that businesses that were not saleable could have changed the outcome, if only they had planned ahead.
“There are many reasons that a business doesn’t sell – maybe it wasn’t profitable enough, even if it had a good size turnover. Or maybe it wasn’t big enough or even too big.
“Autocratic management, poor systems, trying to sell too soon or after a growth opportunity has passed – or sector specific or market conditions, or an owner not ready or not realistic about the valuation can all be factors.”
Sarah said strategic exit planning was vital if business owners wanted to be successful.
“With exit planning, we can review the market ahead of time and work out what the trade buyers are looking for and when will be the ideal time to market your business, depending upon your own requirements, your company’s performance and the activity of the market in your industry.
“Our exit planning process creates a personalised action plan, and to reduce the stress associated with the disposal process, you must make a plan well ahead of time.”
Sarah Hartshorn, Advisory Associate
