How this actually works.
Selling a business, valuing one, buying one, and the question underneath all three: whether to build something or buy something that already trades. Every number here is sourced and dated, because most of the numbers written about this subject are not.
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SellingHow to sell a business in the UKSelling a UK business takes most owners six to twelve months from decision to completion, and runs through six stages: preparing the numbers, agreeing a price expectation, marketing confidentially, agreeing heads of terms, surviving due diligence, and completing. The work that decides the price is almost all done before the business goes to market.Read itEverything else
- SellingWhat a buyer will ask for, and how to have it readyThe document pack a buyer's advisers request during due diligence on a UK business sale, why each item is asked for, and what a slow or missing answer costs you.10 min read
- SellingConfidentiality when selling a businessHow a confidential business sale works in practice: anonymised teasers, non-disclosure agreements, staged disclosure, and when to tell your staff, customers and suppliers.9 min read
- SellingHeads of terms explained, clause by clauseWhat each clause in a heads of terms does in a UK business sale, which parts are binding, and the three provisions worth negotiating hardest before you sign.10 min read
- SellingWhat actually kills a business saleThe ten reasons UK business sales collapse between agreed heads of terms and completion, what each one looks like early, and what a seller can do about it before it happens.9 min read
- ValuingHow UK businesses are valuedHow a price is arrived at for an owner-managed UK business: adjusted profit, multiples, what the multiple actually reflects, and the difference between a valuation and what a buyer will pay.10 min read
- ValuingBusiness sale multiples by sector: what the data saysTypical UK profit multiples by sector for owner-managed business sales, why published averages mislead, and what genuinely moves a multiple within a sector.9 min read
- ValuingAdjusted EBITDA: what you can and cannot add backWhich add-backs survive a buyer's accountant in a UK business sale, which do not, and how to build an adjustment schedule that defends the profit figure you have quoted.9 min read
- BuyingHow to buy a business in the UKA practical guide to buying an established UK business: deciding what to look for, finding one, approaching a seller, making an offer, and getting from heads of terms to completion.11 min read
- BuyingDue diligence when buying a business: the checklistA practical due diligence checklist for buying a UK business, covering financial, legal, commercial, employment, property and IT enquiries, and what each one is actually testing.10 min read
- BuyingFinancing a business acquisition in the UKThe realistic ways to fund buying a UK business: your own capital, commercial lending, asset and property finance, vendor loans, earn outs and government-backed schemes, with what each one costs you.10 min read
- Starting outHow to start a business in the UKThe practical steps to start a UK business: choosing a structure, registering with Companies House and HMRC, VAT, tax, insurance, bank accounts and the first customers.11 min read
- Starting outStart a business or buy one? The honest arithmeticA direct comparison of starting a UK business against buying an established one: what each costs, what each risks, the survival data, and which one suits which kind of person.9 min read