Exit & Succession Planning
That does not necessarily mean selling it.
Ask us to review your current setupAt some point, you will want the business to work without you
You might want to step back gradually, hand more responsibility to the team, bring family into the business, sell to another owner or simply create something that gives you more freedom.
Whatever the long-term plan looks like, it usually becomes easier when you start thinking about it before you need to.
We can help you look at what the business is worth, what might need to change and how the financial side of an exit or succession plan could work.
What do you want the next chapter to look like?
There is no single version of an exit.
For one owner, the goal might be a full sale.
For someone else, it might mean reducing their hours while the management team takes on more responsibility.
You may want to pass the business to family, bring another shareholder in or create a structure that allows you to step away gradually.
The first step is understanding what you actually want.
Once we know that, we can start looking at what needs to happen financially to make it realistic.
What is the business actually worth?
Business owners often have a number in their head.
Sometimes it is based on what they have invested.
Sometimes it is what they would like to walk away with.
Sometimes it comes from hearing what another business sold for.
The value someone may be prepared to pay can be quite different.
We can help you look at the financial performance of the business, understand the factors that may affect its value and identify areas that could make it more attractive in the future.
That gives you something more useful to plan around than a guess.
The tax position matters too
Selling or transferring a business can have significant tax implications.
The structure of the transaction, what is being sold and your own circumstances can all make a difference.
We can help you understand those implications as part of the planning rather than leaving the tax conversation until everything else has already been agreed.
Where specialist legal or other advice is needed, we can work alongside the people involved so the financial side stays joined up.
More than one owner?
Exit planning can become more complicated when different owners want different things.
One person may be ready to step away while another wants to keep growing the business.
Someone may want to sell their share.
Another may want to bring the next generation in.
Those conversations can be difficult when everyone is emotionally and financially invested in the outcome.
We can help put the numbers around the different options and act as a sounding board while you work through what each route could mean.
You do not need to be leaving soon
Some of the best succession planning starts years before anything changes.
If you know that you will eventually want to step back, it is worth starting the conversation while you still have plenty of choices.
The plan can evolve as the business and your own priorities change.
The important thing is that the future of the business is being thought about deliberately rather than dealt with at the last minute.
Thinking about what comes next?
Whether you are considering a sale, succession, bringing someone new into the business or simply want the company to become less dependent on you, we can help you start putting some shape around the financial side of the plan.
You do not need to have decided exactly what you want to do before speaking to us.
Sometimes working that out is part of the conversation.
Ask us to review your current setup