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EXIT PLANNING
Sale, succession or the unexpected. Prepare once and be ready for all three.
WHY PLAN THE EXIT NOW
Every owner exits. The only variables are timing and terms. A planned exit lets you choose the buyer, the structure and the date. An unplanned one, triggered by illness, a death, a partner dispute or a sharp change in the market, hands those choices to someone else, usually at a discount.
For owners in their seventies and eighties the window is already narrowing. Meaningful preparation takes one to three years, and buyers want to see two to three years of clean, consistent results. If you intend to sell within five years, the work that sets your price starts now.
WHAT WE EXAMINE
We assess the business the way an experienced acquirer would, so that nothing in due diligence comes as a surprise.
Revenue quality
Recurring and one-off revenue, customer concentration, contract terms and pricing power.
Earnings and costs
Normalised EBITDA, owner adjustments, margin by line, and the true cost of running the business without you.
Operations
Documented processes, systems and controls, and the key-person risks inside them.
Market and environment
Competitive position, plus a PESTLE review of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental exposure.
People, assets and governance
Management depth, retention, asset condition, compliance, and the legal structure a buyer will inherit.
Every finding is reported against the evidence, and each risk is rated by its likely effect on value.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE: THE BUSINESS OPERATING RECORD
The core output of an engagement is a complete, verified record of the business. Think of it as the operating system and its manual: what the business does, how it does it, how it makes money, and the rules that govern it.
It typically includes normalised financial statements and a quality-of-earnings summary; an operations manual for every core process; a map of the organisation and its responsibilities; a register of contracts, licences, assets and obligations; a risk register informed by the PESTLE review; and a handover protocol that sets out who takes control of what, and in what order.
The same record does several jobs. It supports a defensible valuation and a credible Information Memorandum. It gives a successor, whether family or management, a working manual from the first day. And if you are suddenly unable to run the business, it lets someone else keep it trading while decisions are made.
If you choose to sell, our licence allows us to take the business to market and manage the process through to settlement.
EXIT PATHWAYS WE PREPARE FOR
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Trade sale to a competitor or strategic buyer
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Sale to private equity or a private investor
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Management buyout
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Family succession
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Staged or partial exit
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Merger with a complementary business
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Retaining ownership while stepping out of management
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Contingency handover in the event of illness or death
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Valuation for estate, trust and shareholder planning
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Orderly closure where a sale is not viable
