Thinking of selling your business?

The 2025 Autumn Budget has brought exit strategies to the front of many business owners thinking.

Here are five things to consider..

  1. How much is my business worth?

There is no magic formula to value your business – you will want as much as possible and the buyer will want to pay as little as possible; the value will sit somewhere between the two.

Increasingly. the value of a business sits not in its plant and machinery, its computers and buildings but in the knowledge and skills of its employees and the way these are organised. Understanding and capitalising on the value of these intangible assets is the key to maximising a sale value.

  1. Sell when you want to rather than when you have to

TIME : PLAN : RESEARCH

A strategic approach will put you, as the seller, in a far better position when it comes to negotiating your business sale.

The process of selling a business is neither easy or quick. The longer time you have to plan your exit and prepare your business, the smoother the process will be. It will give you time to research who would be interested in buying your business and structure it in a way that it is more attractive to those people.

  1. The stumbling blocks to a smooth sale

No strategic approach to exit Accountancy issues Legal issues Lack of good housekeeping

  1. How to structure and prepare your employees

Keeping the potential sale of a business confidential is virtually impossible, especially during a buyer’s due diligence process.

In the years before your planned sale, it is important to structure your organisation to encourage knowledge transfer. A more open approach will help eliminate rumours and concerns of affected customers, employees, and vendors, all of whom usually presume a sale will affect them negatively unless they have a better understanding of the process.

  1. How to replace the income from your business

Small business owners reap a number of financial benefits from their ownership. Many draw a competitive salary, receive regular bonuses as profits increase and enjoy significant entertainment and travel budgets paid by the company. So how much will you need in retirement and will the profits from the sale last you?

Our masterclass on January 14th 2025 will look into Business Succession, and cover all of these areas in more detail drawing from case studies, experience and a range of professional expertise.

To book a place, please contact Angela (angela.brett@chadwicks.co.uk) or look out for details on the Masterclasses page

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