Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • Building Trust in AI Through a Decision-Centric Approach in Manufacturing
  • In Profile: Michael Stausholm, founder and CEO of SproutWorld
  • A beginner’s guide to growth shares (and why they’re so popular right now)
  • Brits lose £11.4 billion to scams: these are 5 of the most dangerous
  • Bold Business Marketing Specialist Speaks In Swindon This Week
  • Ransomware payment ban: What is it and how can businesses prepare?
  • How to demonstrate value beyond cost in business proposals
  • How Generative AI is Giving SMEs a Marketing Edge
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»Features»The importance of preparation when selling a business.
James Beatton

The importance of preparation when selling a business.

0
Posted By sme-admin on June 11, 2021 Features, Legal

If you are thinking of selling your business, now is a good time. The M&A market has recovered well since last year and is currently strong with a good level of confidence. The dip in activity last year means many larger corporates, particularly those backed by private equity, are looking to make acquisitions in order to achieve their growth targets.  In addition, debt is readily available from both banks and private lenders. So the market is strong and you are considering selling. What next?

Preparation is key

The sale of a business is one of the biggest single events in a business owner’s career. Planning ahead and making sure you and your business are ready for sale is key to a successful exit or succession strategy.

If you get this right then when you go to market you will be in a better position to ensure:

  • a quicker, smoother and less stressful sale process;
  • your personal tax position is understood and optimised;
  • confidence from your buyer is maintained; and
  • purchase price erosion is avoided.


What does being prepared mean?

Make sure you are ready to do this. This may seem obvious but the decision to sell is a big one. And it is not just a business decision, it is a very personal and often emotional one. In many cases a seller will be selling a business they have spent much of their working life building and also retiring. Is this really the right time for you to start this process?

Have the right team to support you. It is important to work with financial and legal advisers who have real experience of delivering successful transactions and preferably who also understand your sector. This means they will understand how buyers work, what they look for and how deals are structured as well as current market practices and any relevant regulatory requirements. If your current advisers don’t meet these criteria they can still play an important part in the process given their knowledge of you and your business.

Get your management team on side. This may not always be possible, but if you have people who you work with that are key to the future success of the business, then a buyer will usually want to make sure they are supportive of the proposed transaction. If they aren’t, then your business may not be as attractive and your ability to get the best price may be impacted.

Many business owners also put in place incentives to ensure key individuals are rewarded on completion of a successful sale and, if some of the price is deferred and linked to the ongoing performance of the business, when the deferred payment is made. Tax is a major consideration here and putting a structure in place well in advance of a transaction increases the options for ensuring it is tax efficient.

Make sure you and your business are organised. All buyers will carry out detailed financial, tax, compliance and legal due diligence before they complete an acquisition to make sure any issues or concerns with the business are identified in advance. There will always be something that needs to be addressed and, in many cases, it is possible to do this without a real impact on the price or the risk to the seller. That is not always the case though so investing time and money on a pre-sale due diligence review (even if it just covers the high risk areas) will flush out any issues which can then be rectified or managed before a transaction starts.

It is also important for a business owner to understand what his or her tax position is likely to be when a sale completes. There may well be options to help ensure that the sale is achieved tax efficiently and with their personal affairs structured properly.

Summary

Current market conditions present an opportunity for business owners looking to exit. If the time has come for you to seriously consider a sale, being prepared is key to finding the right transaction for you, your business and your employees.

James Beatton, Partner at Cripps Pemberton Greenish.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Brits lose £11.4 billion to scams: these are 5 of the most dangerous

How to demonstrate value beyond cost in business proposals

An Interview with Alexandra Palt: A sustainability leader and L’Oréal’s CSO

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting
Verify your identity for Companies House

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    July 7, 2025

    Bold Business Marketing Specialist Speaks In Swindon This Week

    July 4, 2025

    How Generative AI is Giving SMEs a Marketing Edge

    • Finance
    July 8, 2025

    A beginner’s guide to growth shares (and why they’re so popular right now)

    July 7, 2025

    Ransomware payment ban: What is it and how can businesses prepare?

    • Health & Safety
    July 1, 2025

    Temperatures Soaring: Is Your Workplace Becoming Unsafe?

    January 29, 2025

    UK takeaways guilty of shocking hygiene failures:

    • Events
    July 4, 2025

    £20k grant for female-founded SME up for grabs

    July 2, 2025

    As Seen on BBC Panorama – Brad Burton to Headline The South West Expo in Swindon

    • Community
    June 23, 2025

    Celebrating One Year In Fairford Supporting The Community

    June 2, 2025

    National Charity Accelerates Children’s Reading Through New Corporate Partnership

    • Food & Drink
    June 23, 2025

    England Cricket Captain, Ben Stokes OBE, takes a stake in Spencer Matthews’ alcohol-free spirits brand, CleanCo

    June 16, 2025

    Hospitality industry risks collapse

    • Books
    April 24, 2025

    Values-Driven Professionalism: A Path to Client Loyalty

    December 2, 2024

    Banish the banshee boss: how to lead without fear – addressing the issue of fear-based management and how NOT to be this manager

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Most Recent Posts
    July 9, 2025

    Building Trust in AI Through a Decision-Centric Approach in Manufacturing

    July 9, 2025

    In Profile: Michael Stausholm, founder and CEO of SproutWorld

    July 8, 2025

    A beginner’s guide to growth shares (and why they’re so popular right now)

    July 8, 2025

    Brits lose £11.4 billion to scams: these are 5 of the most dangerous

    July 7, 2025

    Bold Business Marketing Specialist Speaks In Swindon This Week

    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health

    Copyright © 2020 SME Today.

    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.