General retail for sale
0 businesses listed
Stock is the negotiation. Agree early whether stock is included at valuation or in addition, and who counts it, because it is the single most common cause of a retail deal stalling at the last week.
No general retail listed right now
Stock moves through this sector in waves rather than steadily. Leave an address and we will email you the day one is listed. Nothing else, and one click to stop.
Buying or selling a retail business
- How much does it cost to buy a retail business in the UK?
- General retail are usually priced on a multiple of adjusted profit, and businesses in the retail group typically change hands at 1.5 to 3 times that figure, on the basis of adjusted profit, stock usually in addition. Where a freehold is included, the property value is added on top rather than multiplied. The range within a sector is wide, because the multiple reflects how much of the business depends on the current owner rather than what the business does.
- How many general retail are for sale on Attainer?
- There are no businesses listed in this sector at the moment. The count on this page is live rather than a claim, so it will show stock as soon as any is published. You can set an email alert on this page and be told when one appears.
- Why can I not see the name of a retail business that is for sale?
- Most owner-managed businesses are sold confidentially, because staff, customers and suppliers who learn about a sale before it completes can damage the business being sold. Listings are published as anonymised teasers, and the name and detailed financial information are released once you have signed a non-disclosure agreement. It is a normal part of the process rather than a sign that something is being withheld.
- What should I check before buying a retail business?
- The areas that most often produce a genuine problem are the lease and its unexpired term, customer concentration, whether the management accounts reconcile to the filed accounts, and how much of the trade depends on the current owner personally. Verify the adjusted profit line by line with the evidence behind each adjustment, because that figure is what the price is a multiple of.
Guides to buying a businessHow businesses are valuedValue a retail business
Related sectors
Buying or selling one
- What is a retail business worth?An indicative range for this sector, narrowed by the five things that move a multiple.
- How to buy a business in the UKHow to buy an established UK business: what to look for, finding one, approaching a seller, making an offer, and getting to completion.
- Business sale multiples by sector: what the data saysTypical UK profit multiples by sector for owner-managed businesses, why published averages mislead, and what moves a multiple within its range.
- Due diligence when buying a business: the checklistA due diligence checklist for buying a UK business: financial, legal, commercial, employment, property and IT enquiries, and why each matters.