Selling a Business

When you come to sell your business there will probably be a difference between the price that you think your business is worth and the amount that a buyer wishes to pay you. A possible middle ground is to negotiate an 'earn out' which is a structure whereby on the sale of a company you receive an initial amount, and then further sums will be paid dependent on the performance of the business following the sale.

After years of hard work building up a business, the prospect of selling it on to another company or the current management team will be the light at the end of the tunnel. Unless you are a serial entrepreneur, a more leisurely life is ahead when the stresses and strains of running a business will be behind you.

Adrenalin may be running high if you are on the verge of buying a business or selling the company you have built from scratch. You may have already sought professional advice regarding the company valuation but there are other critical issues on which advice will also be needed during those early heady days of negotiations.

This is the first article in a series of three. The other articles are a quick guide for the team looking to buy in and one about funding options.