How to Prepare to Sell your Business - Hilton Smythe

The Hub

Selling a Business - Tips, Advice and Business News

How to Prepare to Sell Your Business

You might have reached a point where selling your business seems like the best step forward – whether you want to make a healthy financial return or simply transition into a new phase of your life.

A successful sale can depend on a lot of groundwork well in advance.

Offloading a business can feel a lot like selling a house: if the business isn’t in good shape, you can’t expect potential buyers to be too impressed. You should be particularly careful to…

Get the timing right

There are various reasons why you might be mulling over selling the company. The firm could be accumulating debt at a disconcertingly rapid pace – and, even if it isn’t, the business could soon fall on financially hard times if your passion for the work has started faltering.

Whatever the reason, if you have made your decision recently, don’t rush bringing the business to market; otherwise, you could hamper your efforts to sell it successfully.

Have your business expertly valued

You should resist attempting to value the business yourself. Even if you are experienced in valuing other people’s companies, you won’t be able to look at your own sufficiently objectively. For this reason, you should hand the responsibility over to an external expert – and we can provide one. You can get in touch with us at Hilton Smythe to arrange a meet-up with a valuer. They can provide the valuation at no charge to you, a particular plus point if your firm is financially struggling.   

Freshen and tidy up your books and records

How much income is your company making? How have its revenues and costs grown or fluctuated during the previous 3 to 5 years? Expect interested parties to ask such questions – and you need to provide the clearest possible answers.

Therefore, before you start inviting people to consider buying your business, check that you have easy access to books and records that are both tidy and up-to-date.

If some clients’ contracts are about to expire, it would also be a good idea to have those contracts extended to ensure that potential buyers can be confident about what they will be getting.

Give your premises a spring clean

As your business valuation won’t reflect the cleanliness and tidiness of the premises, you must be careful not to underestimate the worth of a good-looking corporate building. Otherwise, would-be buyers could be repelled by an adverse factor that you could easily have avoided.

This sheds light on why repainting peeling walls and replacing carpets or worn-looking equipment could literally pay off in the long run. You can then feel more confident as you task our Sales Negotiator and support team with managing the sale of your business.

Thinking of selling your business?

Get in touch with the UK’s number 1 business broker and book your FREE Business Valuation today!

Speak to the team

    Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award

    Recently sold businesses

    • 1

      New and used motorbike dealer

      Oxfordshire

      POA

      Discover Business
    • 1

      Catering supplier

      Nottinghamshire

      POA

      Discover Business
    • 10

      Licensed Cattery 107 Cats With Accommodation

      Haywards Heath, West Sussex

      £1,300,000

      Discover Business
    • 1

      Precision Engineers, Merseyside

      Merseyside

      £1,092,132

      Discover Business
    • 3

      Busy Metal Fabrication Business in Rainham, Greater London For Sale

      Rainham, Havering

      £1,050,000 +SAV

      Discover Business
    • 3

      Freehold Furniture Sales With Development Opportunity

      Chatham, Kent

      £995,000 +SAV

      Discover Business
    • 1

      Precision Engineering Business in the West Midlands For Sale

      West Midlands

      £950,000 +SAV

      Discover Business
    • 4

      Popular Caravan/Camping Park in Blackford Near Carlisle For Sale

      Carlisle, Cumbria

      £949,950 +SAV

      Discover Business
    • 1

      Well Respected Fire Safety & Security Business

      Hampshire

      £910,000 +SAV

      Discover Business

    Business Valuation Calculator

    Find out instantly what your business could be worth.

    Start Valuation

    Less than 1 minute to complete

    Answer a few simple questions

    Get your FREE instant valuation

    Start Valuation

    Our numbers speak for themselves. We don’t do second best and neither should you.

    +62%

    More Completions

    +66%

    More Offers

    +52%

    More Viewings

    *Completions figure is comparable to K3 Capital PLC from 2017. Data based on our nearest competitor k3 Capital PLC, results in 2018 against comparable period.

    Speak to the team

      Feefo Gold Trusted Service Award