Maybe it is time to retire, move on to pastures new or maybe the business is taking too much out of you physically, emotionally and financially and you need to call it a day.
Lots to consider. How do you go about removing YOU from Your business? Can you sell - Often there are significant up front fees in selling via an agent. Can you gift the business to a family member or even the staff? Can you just close it down and simply walk away?
What happens to the staff, any personal guarantees, company debts, the emotional stress and strain of managing a closure, what happens to all the STUFF, HMRC, the Banks and creditors etc.
NOT a limited company? Then the bad news is you are personally liable for all of the debts, any redundancy due to the staff
(included wages, holiday and pension entitlements) . So how do you get out?
Let's be honest here, most businesses are run by the owner / owner's to provide an income for themselves and their family. When you started you didn't set out with a plan to sell up so you are not likely to have prepared fully for this day.
The Good news is that you have options - LOTS of them and a good place to start is to contact Marshall Associates for a free conversation .
Business Sales Agents usually charge a fee to sell your business. This often is a percentage of what they value your business at or may be a set fee to list it on their website with a success fee at the end.
How quickly do you need to sell to move on with your life? It may take upwards of 1 year to complete a sale.
What is your business worth? This is the magical question.
a) Is it a multiple of turnover ( always seems odd because this doesn't take into account a loss making business).
b) A multiple of profit? The bad news here is that you have worked hard to minimise your taxes over the past years so this will impact this valuation method.
c) What someone will pay for it ?
d) A mixture of the above.
e) Plan X - quite a unique solution and people are only just waking up to this as a genuine possibility.
Often the business owner is too deeply emotionally involved to be able to see or to recognise some real opportunities that may be available.
How do you identify the opportunities?
Best place to start is with a free no commitment conversation with one of our team. We have considerable experience helping people to move on, regain their life and allow them to focus on new goals and aspirations.
So if you would like help and some real "outside the norm" applied thinking to your situation then please contact us.
We have helped many clients - many who have become close personal friends - to help them prepare for a sale or to find a different way to move on without impacting themselves financially while still doing the best for their staff.