selling.

The process of selling your business starts with a conversation. Nikki and her team take the time to get to know you and your business, understanding the motivations for selling, taking into consideration every aspect which will assist in selecting the most suitable buyers. A detailed proposal will then be presented and if acceptable, a completed engagement letter starts the process.

Valuing a business can become confusing as there are a number of techniques used to ensure you receive the best possible price as well as the buyer feeling they are paying a fair price too.
The process and end result can come down to a matter of expertise and experience on the part of the valuer and can ultimately depend upon which valuation methodology the valuer uses.

The most commonly used approaches are:

1) The Comparable Sales method
2) The Asset Valuation method
3) Future Maintainable Earnings approach

The team will start preparing an ‘Information Memorandum’, providing a clear and concise description of your business and the opportunity. The business will be then marketed anonymously, with all enquirers required to sign a confidentiality agreement which protects any sensitive information, such as financials, staff, IP and business model.

Around 50% of potential qualified buyers are already known to the team at the start of a new listing. However, all listings go through an extensive and unrivalled marketing process. Once your business is ready to be listed, Nikki will send her contacts an email with a link to your business advert on her website.

When interest is shown from a potential buyer, they will be asked to sign the Confidentiality Agreement. Once this has been signed, and they have been screened and qualified, you will be sent a list of the people that are interested in viewing more information on your business. Only after you have approved this list, Nikki will send them your detailed Information Memorandum.

To maintain confidentiality, your business advertisement will not contain actual pictures of your business or your exact location details. Pictures are generic and non-descriptive, whilst location details are kept very general such as “Northern Adelaide” or “City Perth”.

Due diligence is entered into once you have accepted a buyer offer. This is carried out by the buyer, their external accountants and/or due diligence experts working on behalf of the buyer.

Nikki and her team assist in the due diligence process to ensure all required documents (the due diligence checklist) are prepared on time, so the process can run smoothly. Due diligence is executed on financial, legal and other business areas. If you require any help with legal or financial help during this process, she has leading market experts that she works closely with to recommend to you.

In the final phase, the contract for the sale of the business, with conditions agreed to by both you and the buyer, will be drawn up by out office and a copy sent to each parties conveyancer/solicitor. Normally, it is the responsibility of the buyer to do this. Again, Nikki works closely together with your advisors to ensure the contract is appropriate for all parties concerned.

Congratulations, your next chapter can begin. There may be some assistance required (if agreed) in order to provide the buyer with training, operations, introduction to customers and suppliers and so forth. These options are negotiable and are normally addressed in the offer and negotiation stage.