Selling a business - Recommendations

The time has come to sell my business, I have a few other side line companies and feel the time is right after a number of years.

The problem is the amount of brokers out there!
I have spoken to a few this week and now have an idea on a value but they all sounds very similar (a bit like a used car salesman!), so a recommendation would be great.

I dont mind paying up front but from what I see online a lot of people advise against this and go for a no sale no fee set up but again there is also bad reviews on scenario as well so left a bit puzzled by which way to turn.

Any help would be appreciated, I would prefer to avoid the DIY route even though I will walk away with more I would prefer to pay a company to handle the sale, marketing etc.

What is it that the business does? Depending on size and industry I may know people who are buyers, which would cut out the brokers. Feel free to PM if you would prefer. :)

If you can share the business type / industry you might get better advice.

Unless you're in the PPE or courier business this probably ain't the best time to sell :welcoming:

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Originally Posted by gingerpaul

What is it that the business does? Depending on size and industry I may know people who are buyers, which would cut out the brokers. Feel free to PM if you would prefer. :)

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Thanks Paul, I will send you a PM tomorrow.

The business is sports retail (e-commerce) established company with increasing sales/profits each year, its in a lucrative sector so seems to be drumming up a bit of interest between the brokers I have discussed it with, however I expect many do the same approach.

Two years ago I sold my product design and development company and retired. The process was managed by a midlands based broker and took one month for the marketing materials, three months to make first contact with the eventual buyer and then another six months to complete the sale. In all we spoke to three serious potential buyers but only one that went as far as heads of terms. Agreeing to heads of terms usually involves granting the prospective buyer a period of exclusivity while they work their way through their due diligence.

Regarding the costs the decision I made was to go for a deal based on an agreed up front marketing fee, a fixed percentage fee paid once the sale completed, and a fixed cost package for the legals. The fixed cost for the legals turned out to be very fortuitous since I ended up selling to a US company, a process which generated a lot more legal hours than anyone anticipated.

As you say there are a lot of brokers out there, the approach I followed was to find one who had made a lot of similar sales and had an extensive range of contacts in the relevant business area.

Hope that helps, good luck with the sale.

regards
grant

Hi there

I have just spent 13 years in the industry so please PM me and we can chat.

best

Steve

Do you have universal tips?