One big customer: asset or liability when you sell?
A loyal major client feels like security. To a buyer it can look like the single biggest risk in the business.
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Latest from Exit Index
Three years of clean accounts: where due diligence starts
Buyers and their advisers will go through your numbers line by line. Here is what they look for.
Five years out: why the best exits start early
Buyers pay for businesses that run without their owners. That takes years to build, not months.
When should you talk to an adviser about selling?
Earlier than most owners think. A first conversation commits you to nothing.
Owner dependency: the discount nobody mentions
If the business cannot run for a month without you, a buyer will price that risk in.
Earn-outs explained: getting paid for future performance
Part of the price depends on how the business does after you sell. Here is how that usually works.
Trade sale, management buyout or family succession?
A plain-English guide to the main routes out of a private business, and what each asks of you.
Building a management team a buyer will back
Buyers want to know who runs the business after you leave. The answer takes years to build.
Why tax advice belongs at the start of your exit plan
How a sale is structured can change what you keep. Those decisions are easier years ahead.
Employee ownership trusts: a plain-English guide
Selling to your staff through a trust keeps the business independent. Here is how it usually works.
Selling a care business: what buyers check first
Regulation, staffing and occupancy shape the price of a care business more than almost anything else.
Handing a trades business to your team
A management buyout can keep a trades firm's name and people together. It needs planning years ahead.