Preparing a Service Business for a Private Sale

Owners often wait until they are exhausted before they organise the facts a buyer will ask for. That is understandable. It is also how a simple handover turns into a scramble.

This is a briefing for a private sale, not a promise that a business will sell.

Decide what “ready” means

Readiness is not a coat of paint. It is whether a buyer can see how money comes in, who the customers are, and whether the owner is still the product.

Useful questions:

• Would the work still happen if you stepped out for a month?
• Can revenue be pointed to invoices, even if the bookkeeping is ugly?
• Which customers, leases or supplier accounts would notice a change of control?

If those answers are rough, say so. Buyers in this network have purchased incomplete files. They still need to know where the bodies are.

Keep the first conversation tight

A confidential enquiry process exists so that a private initial discussion can happen before names and staff details are widely shared. You do not need a data room in the first message.

Share:

• industry and rough size
• why you want out
• any hard constraint on timing or who cannot know yet

Hold back:

• customer lists
• employee names
• a made-up asking price you have not tested

Work with the advisers you already trust

If an accountant or solicitor already knows the firm, bring them in before the process becomes public. If the file is distressed, get proper insolvency advice rather than hoping a buyer will magically repair a statutory problem.

When you are ready to talk, keep the first note factual and brief.