Business exit strategies
Business exit strategies are something that you will probably only ever need one of. But it could be the most important piece of planning that you ever do, so you really do want to get it right!
If you are like most business owners of small and medium sized, you are probably not a serial entrepreneur, who develops a business and then sells and moves on to do it again or a Richard Branson, who has a number of projects on the go. The world of Corporate Finance (buying and selling businesses) and business exit strategies will be a mystery and you may have little knowledge of what to do for the best.
How do you:
- Structure the best deal for you and your family
- Maximise the return you receive
- Find a buyer
- Minimise the tax that you pay
- Safeguard your position for the long term
- Who will help you
Planning to sell
Like selling a house, when you are planning to sell your business, it will need to be presented in the best possible light. You will need to make sure that it looks attractive from the outside, that the structure is sound, that there are no hidden problems, that the legal position is covered and that you know when you want to move. When you sell a house you may spend months decorating and tiding to make the right impression and selling a company is no different, although you will probably need more time to maximise your return.
From painting your building, developing your team, structuring the finances, cleaning up the housekeeping to preparing a business plan showing the business’s potential, you need to get started. Your whole business needs to be perfected. Some areas will already be well presented, but like a house by getting started well in advance, you can make sure that when the professionals (accountants and solicitors) turn up to check everything over, you will have your business perfectly presented.
You will need a commonsense plan to get it right and the right time for you to start is now.
Selling your business
Who will buy your business? The truth is no one can be sure so you will need to plan for a number of the possibilities:
- Family takeover
- Management buy out (MBO)
- Management buy in (MBI)
- Trade Sale
- Open Market Sale
Start Planning Now
For every business, including small family run enterprises, there are a number potential business exit strategies and those business owners who succeed in maximising the final opportunity presented by their business, are normally those that start to plan well in advance.
To truly take advantage of your opportunity you need to nurture and develop many aspects of the business and there are areas that cannot be rushed. Some tax planning will need more than 2 years to ensure that it is successful and if your finances could do with being restructured this may take just as long.
What should you do?
You can call me NOW to discuss how your business exit strategies can be developed to satisfy your retirement requirements or complete you details above and I will share some insights by sending you my report “Boost your business’s value by 50%” or email: brian.russell@profitabilitygroup.co.uk.
Brian Russell FCA
Strategic Planning Partner
Tel: 01661 872004