Selling your business – the Do’s and Don’ts

Various aspects of preparation for the sale will be covered and then once the decision to actively sell has been taken, in broad terms, the sales process breaks down into 5 steps:

STEP 1: Establishing the Seller's Needs - above all the sale must meet the vendor's needs both financially and in other important respects.

STEP 2: Preparing the Sale Document (sometimes called the Information Memorandum or Confidential Briefing Document) - it is very important to present the business in the best possible light as well as providing the key information buyers wish to see.

STEP 3: Marketing the Business - the business will need to be advertised as widely as possible, and normally on an anonymous basis.  The target audience generally needs to include potential trade buyers, investment houses and other professional advisers. Targeting may need to be very specific if the sellers are concerned about market impact. 

STEP 4: Negotiating the Deal – the initial negotiation of a comprehensive Heads of Terms document setting out all the key terms agreed between buyer and seller. The target scenario is to have several potential buyers undertaking negotiations concurrently.

STEP 5: Managing the Legal Stages and Due Diligence -  this can be very time consuming and fraught with potential complications but are a necessary evil to a successful sale completion.

We will take you through some of the do’s and don’ts of each of the steps above.