Selling your business
A confidential sale, run properly from first conversation to settlement
For founders and long-term owners ready to exit in full, for clear and settled reasons such as retirement, succession or moving on to the next chapter.
Who I work with
The businesses buyers compete for
A business like this carries less transferable risk. That means a broader pool of buyers, stronger multiples, cleaner due diligence and a faster path to settlement.
- Trading record
- At least three years of consistent, verifiable trading, with accounts that reconcile to tax returns. Earnings that are sustainable, not the product of one strong year.
- Customer base
- Revenue spread across many customers, with no single customer or contract large enough to put the business at risk if it left. Repeat, recurring or contracted revenue is a plus.
- Owner independence
- The business runs day to day without you. Key customer, supplier and staff relationships sit with the team, not only with the founder.
- Systems and processes
- Documented, repeatable operations: SOPs, financial reporting, CRM and systems a buyer can take over and understand quickly.
- People
- A capable second tier of management with real delegated authority, likely to stay through a change of ownership.
Not quite ready?
Worth starting the conversation early
If the business leans heavily on you or on one or two customers, if earnings have been volatile, or if processes aren't documented yet, it may need 12 to 24 months of exit-readiness work first. That time is often where the most value is created.
A good first conversation is usually about timing rather than whether to sell at all. It helps if you can:
- produce three years of financials without delay;
- describe your own role as strategic rather than operational;
- name the people who run sales and operations.
Read what is my business worth? for what moves the price, and what you can do about it now.
The process
Your business is never put on show
No listing portals and no advertising. Qualified buyers are approached directly and personally, sign an NDA before they learn your name, and see sensitive detail only as they commit.
Thinking about selling, now or in a few years?
Tell me a little about your business and your timing. Everything you share stays between us.