Selling a Business

Selling a business is one of the most difficult and daunting decisions to make in your career.

RMT’s dedicated team of corporate finance specialists can assist you with planning the sale of your business and help to demystify the process by removing some of the uncertainties.

Our team will project manage the process from start to completion to ensure as much of the stress is taken away as possible. We will also introduce you to experienced tax advisors who will ensure that your corporate and personal tax affairs are in order during and after the process.

Maximising value

One of the first things you need to consider is how you can maximise the value of your business and unlock its potential. Ensuring your business is structurally sound and performing well is crucial and our team can help you identify the key areas where value can be found in your enterprise through a carefully drawn up strategic review.

Maximising your value may not always involve accepting the highest offer for your business, however, and there may be other considerations which have non-monetary value.

Priming your business

This process involves identifying a number of issues which may need to be addressed before you embark on the sale process.

These include:

• If you are the key sales person for the business do you need to train someone up to take over from you or will you have to remain with the business when it is sold?
• Are your financial systems efficient?
• Are your audits and tax bills up to date?

These are all questions you will need to answer positively in order to ensure you receive the highest possible price.
We can help you with assessing your business and its value as well as providing guidance in terms of areas to focus on before undertaking the sale. This grooming stage is very important but often overlooked.

Selling document

The next stage is to prepare an Information Memorandum, which will be a key selling document and will ensure all potential purchasers have sufficient and consistent information to make an informed decision.

The document must be balanced so as not to create problems which could be later identified in the buyer’s due diligence of your businesses, while also highlighting the company’s attributes and potential future in the market.

During the drafting of the Information Memorandum we will research and prepare a comprehensive list of potential purchasers for your business. These may not just be trade buyers but also individuals or financial institutions with interests in your market.

Potential purchasers

Our team’s expertise and contacts which span the globe provide an extensive network through which to find your most suitable partner or purchaser. We pursue all possible opportunities home and abroad, as the most attractive offer may not necessarily come from an obvious source.

From this point on, negotiations with the potential purchaser and project management of the other parties are crucial to the smooth running of any transaction.

We have extensive experience in negotiating disposals on behalf of clients and always seek to reach a position which satisfies your objectives. If you do not have a relationship with a reputable legal firm that has experience in selling businesses we would be able to introduce you to a number of trusted associates operating in your market.

Due diligence

The potential purchaser will wish to undertake a thorough due diligence review on your business, which will involve investigating the financial, operational and legal position of the company. We will help manage this process, which could be  carried out by an independent team advising the purchaser.

Our transaction support team carries out due diligence exercises for our banks, venture capitalists and acquisitive clients.

Once due diligence is over, the finishing post is in sight. The legal documentation will have started during this phase and will involve many meetings with the legal team. We will project manage this process and attend the meetings with the lawyers.

Completion

The completion date will arrive when all parties have agreed on legal documentation and terms on which the deal has been struck. A number of points often get left to the last completion meeting though we will aim to keep these to a minimum.

Completion will bring with it a range of other considerations you will have to deal with not least what you will do with all that free time you have.