Selling your business can be a complex venture that may involve several considerations and could require a decent amount of your time in addition to you continuing to run your business. We have a dedicated in-house team of experts who can help you with this process and make the transition as smooth as possible. If required, we can help you with a business valuation, identify possible buyers, negotiate with potential acquirers, review legal documentation, and advise on the tax payable. If you are considering selling your business, we recommend that you speak to one of our experts as soon as possible before you do anything. We can inform you of the process, what you can do to make the business more attractive to a buyer and inform you of your responsibilities and taxation.
First, why are you selling?
You may be looking for a new challenge or you may wish to retire. It’s entirely up to you as to why you wish to sell your business. However, a potential buyer may ask you this and want to know your story as to why you’re considering selling your business Preparing a business for sale is a time-consuming process, it can be compared to selling a house, you need to ensure you have all your affairs in order to make it appealing to the buyer and to make the process as efficient as possible. This includes keeping all your financial reports up to date and even applying a new coat of paint on any premises.
Seek professional advice
As mentioned already, speaking to an advisor as soon as possible can assist in maximising the value of your business as well as increasing your chance of a successful sale. Consulting a solicitor and a finance professional at the start of this process, not only gives you the opportunity to agree all fees up front, but also allows these advisors to negotiate the deal in a way to maximise sale proceeds to you and minimise the taxation payable where possible. There are different things to consider if you are self-employed, in a partnership or a limited company. We shall deal with the sale of a limited company here.
Selling your Limited company
Selling a limited company – there are two options when considering the sale of your business, a Share sale where the company is sold in its entirety. This contrasts with a Business asset purchase where the acquirer can pick and choose which assets they wish to acquire. Not sure which is the best option for you then please do get in touch.
Further considerations
In addition to arranging the deal, you also need to consider the use of Confidentiality agreements or Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) to prevent any information from being stolen by competitors.