Our approach
A clear process, with the timetable agreed up front.
Selling a business you built shouldn't feel like being processed. Here is exactly how it works with us, stage by stage, from the first quiet conversation to the day after completion.
- 1
Stage one
A single meeting
A confidential conversation
No documents, no NDA needed and nothing formal. We talk about the business, why you are thinking about it now, and what you would want the outcome to look like. Plenty of owners stop here and come back a year later.
- 2
Stage two
2–4 weeks
Information and valuation
Under a mutual NDA we review three years of accounts, recent management figures and a customer summary. We explain how we arrive at a value — adjusted profit, quality of revenue, dependence on you — rather than producing a number with no reasoning behind it.
- 3
Stage three
1–2 weeks
An offer and heads of terms
A written offer setting out the price and what we would need from you afterwards. We agree the timetable at this point and we stick to it.
- 4
Stage four
4–8 weeks
Due diligence
Financial, legal and commercial checks, run to a defined list so you know exactly what is coming. We ask early rather than late, and we do not use diligence as an excuse to reopen price.
- 5
Stage five
4–6 weeks
Completion and handover
Contracts, funds and a handover shaped around what you want — a clean break, a few months of introductions, or a part-time role you actually enjoy. We plan the announcement to staff and customers together.
Six to nine months from first conversation to completion is typical. Owners who have their paperwork in order often move considerably faster.
Start a confidential conversation.
No broker, no obligation, and nothing shared with anyone. Just a private conversation about what you have built and what you'd like to happen next.