Frequently Asked Questions

• In some instances, you will have been approached by a buyer and you are happy to sell, but you need help and guidance to complete the sale.
• In other instances, you may have an idea of the parties likely to be interested in buying your business. We can focus on those parties and work with you to identify additional parties.
• If you are not really sure who will buy your business, we may already know some parties that would be interested.
• Failing that we will undertake extensive research to identify potential buyers.

• Your accountant is likely to have a lot of knowledge and information on your business, including the financial information.
• We typically work directly with your accountant to get their input and thoughts at the beginning as well as to provide the information needed for the teaser and information memorandum. 
• When we progress to due diligence, we will need further assistance from your accountant to respond to queries and provide additional information.

The timeframe may vary depending on the capital required for your current circumstances and the outlook for your business. In our experience capital raising requires at least 3 months.

• We will offer you an initial meeting free of charge to get to know you and understand your business, during which we can discuss fee options with you.
• Fee options can include a simple hourly or daily rate, a fixed monthly rate or an initial monthly retention fee with a success fee.

• No, it should be tailored for your circumstances, your goals, and objectives.
• Examples of different sale processes might include:
  • A public campaign versus a discreet private campaign,
  • Issuing a high-level summary of the business like a teaser or a flyer to a greater number of potentially interested parties to seek expressions of interest or alternatively issuing a complete IM to limited specific parties,
  • Share sale or a business and asset sale that can be influenced by the company’s circumstances such as non-business assets or the seller’s tax position.
• We will work with you to identify the best way to market your business. 

We can explore alternative options with you through our relationships. We have an extensive network of banks and investors that allows us access to tell the story for your business and capital needs.

By modelling outcomes in a way that the funder requires we find that we have greater success.

We are very happy to chat through our previous sale projects and experiences. We may be restricted from discussing some in any detail due to ongoing confidentiality obligations but we will share what we can.

We have been involved in many business sales and understand the following:

• What a buyer is looking for and how best to position your business to maximize the price.
• How a buyer will approach the process and how to manage their expectations and ongoing involvement.
• A buyer is looking to pay as little as possible, so it is important you avoid the risks of your price being discounted. This typically occurs during the due diligence process so it is vital we can provide quality information for due diligence and that it is consistent with the data in the information memorandum and any other sale documents.
• Engaging an experienced advisor will improve your chances of completing a sale.

• No, it shouldn’t and that is part of the reason for engaging an adviser to assist you.
• The business needs to continue to operate and achieve the same profits as that is what a buyer is buying. If the performance deteriorates during the sale process then you may end up with a lower price. 
• While we will need some access to you and your assistance at certain times, we aim to leave you to get on with managing your business.