Three streams, running together
Financial: accounts, management information, debtors, creditors, tax position, add-backs. Legal: company records, contracts, leases, disputes, intellectual property. Commercial: customers, suppliers, pipeline, staff and how the work actually gets done.
For a straightforward owner-managed business this typically takes four to eight weeks.
What slows it down
Missing signed contracts. Management accounts that do not reconcile to the statutory ones. Unrecorded director loans. Verbal agreements with key customers. A lease nobody can find.
None of these kill a deal on their own — but each one adds a fortnight and a little doubt.
How to make it painless
Assemble the pack before you need it: three years of accounts, up-to-date management figures, a customer list with revenue by account, employee details, key contracts and leases, and a note of anything unusual.
Disclose the awkward things early. Buyers price known problems calmly and unknown ones harshly.