About Our Process

FROM YOUR ENQUIRY

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From your enquiry, be it a telephone conversation or email, an initial ‘no obligation’ telephone call will be scheduled with one of our business brokers to discuss your business and your expectations from the sale.

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Your allocated broker will then take some time getting a deeper understanding how your business works, through initial phone calls and often a meeting and tour of your premises. Its essential you build a good rapport with your broker and he or she understands your expectations and intentions in full.

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Should you wish to proceed, you will be introduced to a broker who’s experience and profile best suits your business. We will send a signed non disclosure agreement to ensure confidentiality.

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At this stage, should you wish to instruct The Business Board to sell your business, a proposal pack will be sent to you and an engagement letter will need to be agreed and signed. Standard fee’s and terms apply.

INITIAL MEETINGS

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Working closely with our clients, we create a one page ‘teaser document’ to take to market and generate interest in the opportunity. In background, a more detailed company business profile is put together to give interested parties a more in depth insight into the business.

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Once any enquirers have been vetted and qualified and gained client approval, the company business profile is disclosed and your business broker will field any questions or queries that may arise.

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75% of businesses marketed never sell, however, 75% of the engagements we take on do sell. This is in part due to our collaborative marketing approach across digital and offline channels. These efforts generate a number of enquiries which are vetted and qualified prior to making the seller aware and gaining their approval. NDA’s are required to be signed by any interested party.

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Any serious buyers at this stage will meet with your allocated business broker who will enquire how the financing of the deal with be structured and to understand the proposal offer in general, be it an earn out or straight sale.

SHORTLIST OF OFFERS

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From the pool of interested parties, The Business Board will analyse the options available and scrutinise the suitability of each potential acquirer to ensure we are only proceeding with best the ‘fits’ for your business.

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In an ideal scenario we would look to have 3-5 interested parties, who have had all the information required to make an offer, We would let the potential purchasers position the level of pricing and the multiples to be used to submit an offer.

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Our primary objective is maximising the value of your business and ensuring we obtain the best possible outcome. As such, The Business Board will continue to meet with interested parties and negotiate the structure of any proposed offers to ensure we achieve this.

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Businesses are worth different amounts to different companies , for example your business will be worth more to someone with trade benefits and savings,’ in comparison with investors looking for a multiple of profit. However, investors looking to build a ‘group’ may fall into the category of benefits from having associated companies.

FORMAL OFFERS

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Throughout the process, relationships are built with potential buyers and the fit of the buyer to the seller is equally as important as the business vision and trying to ensure that it is a successful transaction for all. The formal offers are backed with fund confirmation and the confirmation of the deferred element.

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After going through the full marketing process, unless there is an exceptional offer on the table, we would generally ask for formal offers giving all purchasers the full opportunity to ascertain exactly what the business is worth to them and as a consequence, helping the seller achieve the best overall deal. Not just in monetary terms, but in overall suitability.

DUE DILIGENCE

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At this stage formal offers have been verified and received and a deal in principle has been agreed, as such a period of due diligence will be entered. Standard areas of due diligence include reviewing financials, property, customer and supplier contracts, assets, employee and contractor agreements and insurance matters.

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It is often useful, with the help of your business broker, to consider the kind of questions an acquirer will ask. If you were buying your business, what would you like to know about the company? Prepare your key personnel in advance so the process is a collaborative effort and as smooth as possible.

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Once the prospective buyers have compiled their due diligence check list, the document will need to be carefully reviewed by the relevant personnel in each area of interest. The due diligence process can be laborious and take some time to complete, so it’s important you are prepared and able to provide the information requested.

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When the process is complete, and once the acquirer is satisfied they have all the information they require, due diligence can be drawn to a close and the deal is progressed towards completion.

COMPLETION

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At this stage, the sale agreement will be finalised. This will detail the specifics of the sale, most of which will have been documented in the heads of terms agreement. It is important at this point of the proceedings to continue to communicate with all parties to ensure the final sale agreement is acceptable and your future responsibilities are clear.

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Upon completion of the sale, the company will pass into the control of the buyer. Registration details will need to be transferred and insurance and contracts amended. All relevant statutory bodies will need to be informed as well as land registry (if necessary) and the business rates department.