The Business Broker’s Blog
A resource to help you sell your business successfully
In our Blog, we aim to bring you a variety of articles to help you further down the road to selling your business successfully, from
our view on the general economy and its current impact on business mergers and acquisition activity, to our spotlight on the issues
faced by SME businesses and the help available. We also highlight our “Business of the Month” and give advice
on how to prepare your business for optimum sale.
We hope this is a useful resource for you and would appreciate your feedback. As always, please do contact us if you have any questions
Thu 03rd April 2025
Hornblower at Accountex 2025 – London
We’re thrilled to announce our participation in Accountex 2025 at the Excel Centre in London! Join Denise Prentice, Derick Humphrey, and myself, Henry Campbell-Jones, at Stand 1344 on Wednesday, May 14th, and Thursday, May 15th. Over the years, we’ve built strong partnerships with accountancy firms, helping them support their clients with business valuations and sales....
Thu 06th March 2025
The State of the SME Business Sales and Acquisition Market in 2025
As we move further into 2025, the UK and Ireland’s SME mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape is experiencing a resurgence according to the latest Dealsuite M&A Monitor for H2-2024. We have summarised the highlights from the report here. A Market on the Rise in H2 2024 After a challenging period of high interest rates...
Wed 19th February 2025
Thinking about selling? What to consider before exiting
We are pleased to present another guest article from Compare Wealth Managers which talks about how to plan and manage the wealth you have built in the value of your business. Before initiating the sale of your business, thorough preparation is crucial. Compare Wealth Managers emphasises the importance of a comprehensive exit strategy, which...
Sun 16th February 2025
Finding the right Wealth Manager: The Key to a Successful Business Exit
We are pleased to present a guest article from Compare Wealth Managers which talks about how wealth managers can help business owner to plan and manage the wealth you have built in the value of your business. Selling a business is a monumental decision that requires thorough preparation and strategic planning. Engaging the right...
Tue 07th January 2025
How much will it cost to sell my business?
If you have been considering the sale of your business for some time, you may have considered some of the questions we have written articles about over the last few months: Planning the sale of your business and what questions to ask your accountant and wealth advisor? What would you do if you did not...
Tue 10th December 2024
Businesses Likely to Sell Well in 2025
2025 will no doubt present its challenges for business and in particular the fortunes of SME businesses and their owners, whether due to the government’s domestic policies or world events. This said, there have been significant challenges for business owners pretty much every year. Can you remember a year since 2008, a few years after...
Sun 03rd November 2024
The Impact of the CGT Rate Increase on Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR)
With just five months until the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate with Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) rises from 10% to 14% on lifetime gains up to £1m, SME business owners considering an exit should take note. Selling before April 2025 could lead to significant tax savings, particularly for companies with multiple shareholders. Five months...
Sat 05th October 2024
Do you know how buyers will value your business? Indeed, is it sellable?
It is important to have an idea of how the market will react to your business before you present it for sale. How will buyers view your businesses? What is it worth to them? Is it a viable investment? This is why we offer a free initial assessment of your business to provide our view...
Wed 04th September 2024
What are the options for retiring when you own your company?
Whilst the concept of retirement has become somewhat fluid in recent years, for most people who are employed by companies, large and small, retirement comes on a date which has been set and planned for some time in advance, often many years. Retirement apart, should employees, senior or junior, wish to have a change of...
Tue 06th August 2024
What would you do if you did not have to run your business?
With the summer holidays getting into full swing, and the gentle warmth of a UK heat wave, this question may be running through many a business owner’s mind. You may have started your business 10, 20, perhaps 30 years ago. It is quite possible that you have thought about it at some point, every day...
Mon 08th July 2024
3 questions you should ask your accountant/tax advisor and financial advisor when planning the sale of your business?
With the Autumn budget fast approaching, whatever approach the new government takes towards business and particularly SME companies and their owners, the issue of tax is likely to remain a hot topic for some time. There are of course many aspects of your business and personal finances that you will need to consider in planning...
Fri 05th April 2024
Hornblower at Accountex 2024 – London
We are pleased once again to be exhibiting at the trade show for accountants, Accountex 2024 at the Excel Centre in London. Denise Prentice, Derick Humphrey and myself (Henry Campbell-Jones) will be at Stand 485 on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th May, so do come and see us. Over the years, we have built relationships and...
Tue 09th January 2024
Which businesses will sell well in 2024?
Whatever the economic conditions and global outlook, when it comes to sales, mergers and acquisitions of Owner Managed SME businesses, certain factors hold true, perhaps now more than ever. Businesses which sell well typically have the same traits, they: Operate in a niche market with strong barriers to entry Have consistent recurring revenue, with clients...
Tue 09th January 2024
Will 2024 be a good year to sell your business?
The last 3 years have certainly been busy years for the sale and acquisition of Owner Managed SME businesses. It has recently been reported in the press that M&A deal values dropped by 33% to $265bn in 2023 compared to 2022. This has been put down to rising interest rates and a concerning outlook for...
Mon 13th November 2023
What info is required to apply for funding?
Guest article written by Christian Elson of White Oak For owner managers of SMEs businesses, access to finance is integral, especially in these challenging times. If cash is available for use, then that is an option, but for most SMEs such funds are vital for investing pragmatically within their own businesses, so a variety of...
Wed 02nd August 2023
ESG – Why bother?
The issue of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is firmly on the business agenda, but what does it mean and why should you take time out of your busy life as an owner to engage with it? Why bother? Here’s eight reasons why… It makes business sense. Applying the ESG lens to your business will...
Fri 05th May 2023
The Fastest Way to Grow Your Accountancy Firm
As business sales brokers, we routinely work with a range of accountancy firms of various sizes and stages of development. Our approach to our working relationships with accountancy firms has always been one of open collaboration, and in the spirit of this approach, we aim to share our insights through a series of blogs which...
Mon 17th April 2023
Hornblower at Accountex 2023
We are pleased once again to be exhibiting at the trade show for accountants, Accountex 2023 at the Excel Centre in London. Denise Prentice, Derick Humphrey and myself (Henry Campbell-Jones) will be at Stand 585 on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th May, so do come and see us. Over the years, we have built relationships and...
Mon 20th February 2023
Funding Outlook for 2023
Adapting to game changing events News cycles last year provided ample content for anyone seeking doom and gloom. 2022 was supposed to be the year of post-pandemic re-openings but it became the year of war, persistent high inflation and global energy crises. It was also a year which saw a major shift at central banks...
Tue 10th January 2023
Will 2023 be a good year to sell your business?
2021 and 2022 have both been busy years for the sale and acquisition of SME businesses. Despite the challenges in the economy and outlook for 2023, we continued to complete a good number of sales through Q4 2022. Coming into 2023 we look forward to bringing a number of new sale mandates – well established,...
Tue 06th December 2022
Planning to sell your business? Who’s help do you need?
If you are contemplating the sale of your business, preparation is key. Having the right team in place to guide you throughout the process will make the process a whole lot less stressful and enable you to achieve full value for your business. So who do you need on your business sale team? A good...
Tue 06th December 2022
Selecting a commercial lawyer and keeping transaction costs down
So you have agreed a deal with a buyer, you have signed heads of terms and have a headline figure in mind for the deal value, you may even have calculated the final value after tax; but what will the final value be after the legal bill? How do you ensure you receive good legal...
Thu 01st December 2022
Can I sell my business in a flat economy?
Article updated December 2022 Despite the media headlines in the last quarter, the UK’s economy recorded some of the strongest economic growth across the world in 2022. According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), real GDP (Gross Domestic Produce) growth was 3.6% in 2022 – but it forecasts that the UK economy will flatline in...
Thu 17th November 2022
Impact of Inflation and Interest Rates on Deal Making
We are often asked by business owners who are contemplating the sale of their business, “What is the market like for selling businesses at the moment?” or “Is now a good time to sell my business?”. A valid question in any economic climate but one we are hearing more in these times with the increased...
Thu 01st September 2022
Is an acquisition right for your business?
Is an acquisition right for my business? According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, business acquisition in the UK was valued at £4billion in the first quarter of 2022. With such value, you may be wondering whether an acquisition is right for your business? Buying another business to integrate into your own is...
Tue 05th July 2022
Using Asset Based Lending to fund acquisitions
When looking to acquire a business, having access to the right kind of funding can make all the difference between a long-winded journey and a smoother strategically thought-out road. Why look into Asset Based Lending for acquisitions? One funding option that has been increasingly growing in popularity is Asset Based Lending, which enables companies...
Wed 15th June 2022
Selling Your Precision Engineering Business – What You Need To Know
Are you hoping to sell your precision engineering business in the future? While the actual sale of a business can be an involved process, simply getting to the point where you can even start to have conversations with potential buyers is no mean feat either. If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry –...
Tue 07th June 2022
Business Valuation Training for Accountants
We very much enjoyed exhibiting at the Accountex 2022 Show in May. It was great to see and meet so many people from the accountancy profession, so thank you to all those who came by our stand. At the show, we launched our Business Valuation Training course for partners and client manager teams at accountancy...
Wed 04th May 2022
Hornblower at Accountex 2022
We are pleased once again to be exhibiting at the trade show for accountants, Accountex 2022 at the Excel Centre in London. Denise Prentice, Derick Humphrey and myself (Henry Campbell-Jones) will be at Stand 110 on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th May, so do come and see us. Over the years, we have built relationships...
Mon 14th February 2022
Business Exit: What you need to do before selling
Selling your business is not a regular activity. And when it does happen, you want your exit to be as smooth, efficient and profitable as possible. Before you begin the process of reviewing options to sell, preparing for sale, and the sale itself, there are important steps you need to take as part of your...
Sat 05th February 2022
How to calculate surplus cash vs working capital ?
Many business owners allow cash to build up within their company over the years. Sometimes this is to keep their personal income tax below the higher thresholds if they do not need the income, sometimes it is to build cash reserves for a possible downturn. Within reason, surplus cash can also be added to the...
Mon 10th January 2022
Will 2022 be the right time to sell your business?
2021 was another busy year for the sale and acquisition of SME businesses. Appetite for acquisition remained strong with plenty of well-funded buyers in the market. At the same time, we were able to bring to the market a good number of businesses for sale in our core sectors, with many business owners deciding to...
Thu 18th November 2021
Glossary of Frequently Used Terms When Selling Your Business
If you are just starting out on your journey to sell your business, you may need to get to grips with some of the new language you will hear. So we have prepared a glossary of the most commonly used terms in the mergers and acquisitions process. Acquisitions A transaction where a buyer (most commonly...
Fri 22nd October 2021
How much is your business worth and is this enough?
If you find yourself asking this question, you’re probably interested in learning more about: The types of buyers for small businesses How small businesses are valued What aspects of a business will drive valuations up or down; and What is involved in the process of selling In a recent webinar with the London Chamber of...
Thu 30th September 2021
When should you tell your staff about the sale of your business?
Another question we are often asked by business owners considering a sale of their business is, do I inform the staff about the sale? And if so, when? In most cases, the staff are told in the few days prior to completion of the deal, or even just afterwards. This is on the premise that...
Mon 30th August 2021
Growing your business through acquisition: The pros and cons
Growing a business is normally done in one of two ways (or a combination of both). Organic growth – where the business naturally gets bigger thanks to winning more business. And growth through acquisition – where a company buys other companies to grow their offering, staff and customer base more quickly. In this article, we’ll...
Mon 19th July 2021
Why keeping records helps you sell your business
Business owners fail to sell their business by not taking critical steps, a survey has found. And if they do manage to find a buyer, it may not achieve its full value, the report claims. The findings of the survey of business owners by the Exit Planning Institute (EPI) were reported in Forbes magazine. According...
Mon 10th May 2021
Has the pandemic affected my business valuation?
This is a question we are frequently asked at present. It really depends on how your business has fared through the lockdowns and the prospects for an upturn as the restrictions on our movement start to relax. We tend to classify businesses into 3 main categories: Businesses which have seen consistent, if not growing sales...
Mon 12th April 2021
Selling Your Business: How Long Will You Remain Involved Post-Sale?
Once a business sale has completed, many business owners want to know how long they will remain involved in their company. To a large extent this will depend on the deal structure that is agreed as the buyer’s strategy for the business post completion will be linked to the type of deal structure they propose....
Tue 09th February 2021
Do I sell my company now, in 2021, or build it for 2 years more?
This is a question often posed by owners contemplating the sale of their business in good economic times. Whilst the long-term impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns on many SME businesses remains to be fully assessed, this question will become much more prevalent in the coming months for those who were considering the sale of their...
Tue 02nd February 2021
How To Sell Your Business For a 7x Multiple
Selling your business is a difficult, time-consuming, but ultimately extremely rewarding task. To ensure you sell the business for the price you want, you’ll need to understand how business valuations are made, and the steps you can take to increase that valuation. But we should start this off by saying there is no quick and...
Fri 18th December 2020
How long will it take to sell your business?
How long will it take to sell your business? “How long will it take to sell my business?” is a question we are frequently asked by business owners. However, there are also a host of other common questions we get that relate to the time it takes to sell your business. So we thought it...
Sun 06th December 2020
Will 2021 be the right time to sell your business?
As we come into the Christmas holiday season, this is when we find many business owners take time to reflect on the past year and make plans for the next, both for the business and on a personal level. Clearly 2020 has been a year like no other with the COVID19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns...
Thu 26th November 2020
Selling Your Business – The Ultimate Guide
In this series of articles from our “Ultimate Guide”, we’re going to take you through the entire process of selling your business. We’re going to use our decades of experience and knowledge and tell you exactly what you need to know and do to sell your business successfully. We go through several stages, to break...
Thu 26th November 2020
Preparing Your Business For Sale – The Ultimate Guide
Always be preparing The first bit of advice we can give is to always be preparing your business for a sale. That means from day one you take into account everything in this article and you make sure you’re dotting all the ‘i’s and crossing all the ‘t’s. Even if your plan is to sell...
Thu 26th November 2020
Growing Your Business For Sale
Growth Is your business growing? Or has it stagnated? It goes without saying that a growing business will look much more tempting to a buyer, so it’s important that you keep that in mind. But what do we mean by growing? Simply put, your business is turning over more every year and profits are growing....
Thu 26th November 2020
Timing Your Business Sale
Markets have a habit of changing their minds from time to time. Businesses that might look appealing at one stage may not the next, and it’s important to be aware of how the market is behaving at all times. This means you need to keep an eye on it, or talk to people that do....
Thu 26th November 2020
Valuing Your Business
Figuring out a realistic price for your business should be your first step. Buyers are rarely sentimental, so it’s important to understand their motivations and what advantages buying your business can and can’t bring to them. To come up with the right figure, you need to know how businesses are valued, the multipliers that are...
Thu 26th November 2020
Finding a buyer
Types of Buyer High net worth investors with industry experience These buyers are often business owners in their 50s and 60s who have recently sold businesses for substantial amounts. Left with time on their hands, they are typically not people who want to retire early. They are therefore looking for a smaller business in...
Thu 26th November 2020
Preparing for Due diligence
Is everything as it should be? Every potential buyer of your business will go through a due diligence process to evaluate your business and make sure everything is as it should be. You can help speed this process along by collecting certain information that buyers tend to ask for ahead of time. Below is a...
Thu 26th November 2020
Negotiating a Deal
Be firm but flexible Negotiation is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for any potential business sale. Why? Well, in the beginning, both parties tend to have differing opinions on the value of a business. The owner will likely believe it’s worth more than the buyer, and that can cause issues. As the owner and...
Thu 26th November 2020
Dealing with Black Swan Events
It’s all well and good telling you how you can be more successful when planning to sell your business during good times. But what happens when the world is hit by a black swan event? How can you mitigate the effects of such an event, and how can you retain as much value in your...
Sat 11th July 2020
Selling to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
On 26th June, we celebrated Employee Ownership day in the UK. It was marked by a number of highly informative webinars organised by the Employee Ownership Association. The webinar recordings are available on the EOA website along with a lot of must-read articles and information about how Employee Ownership works in practice. Selling to an employee...
Fri 15th May 2020
5 benefits of merging your IT & managed services business
Consolidation and growth opportunities in 2020 We can be in no doubt that the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic on the economy will be felt for some time to come. At a macro-level there has been much talk of various profiles for the recovery, as we look to come out of lockdown, whether this be...
Fri 01st May 2020
Why buy a business during a crisis?
Across the media, from tabloids to broadsheets and online, we are bearing witness to very real business casualties of the Covid-19 crisis. The lockdown has, as everyone knows, resulted in unprecedented fiscal stimulus package from the government to shore up the economy and try to prevent a recession at the levels of the Great Financial...
Thu 23rd April 2020
How to build a business worth multi-millions in 3 years?
Interview with an entrepreneur who has achieved just this – by Hornblower Business Sales & Acquisitions Consultant, Sian Murray We, at Hornblower, first met Sue Nelson at a networking event in October 2016 when she suggested that the business was about a year away from selling. When I asked her for her three years of...
Wed 15th April 2020
Were you planning to sell your business in 2020? – 6 ways to deal with black swan events
After 3 years of uncertainty caused by the ‘B’ word, the election result in December 2019 seemed, to many, to give a clear way forward. The endless commentary on Brexit seemed to go quiet. Brexit was getting done. Business too was getting done. The FTSE was on a high, business was ramping up and for...
Mon 30th March 2020
Support for SME businesses through Covid-19
The Government has announced an unprecedented level of support for businesses, employees and the self-employed. Full details can be found on the UK Gov website, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses Hornblower can help too. And we are offering our time free of charge, no strings attached. Applications for Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme The Coronavirus...
Fri 27th March 2020
Impact of COVID-19 on SME business sale activity
With a large part of the world in lock-down and the unprecedented disruption to the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, M&A and SME business sale activity is likely to be impacted for some time. The majority of our Vendor clients are focused on how to manage their companies through the coming weeks and months,...
Fri 07th February 2020
Who will buy my business?
Should you decide it’s time to sell your business, one of the questions you might ask yourself, or your broker, is: who will buy my business? It’s important to think about this before you make the decision to sell. A better understanding of the types of buyers out there, and the ones best suited to...
Fri 07th February 2020
Why sell my business?
If selling your business has been on your mind, asking yourself why you want to sell is an important thing to do. Not only is it a worthwhile question to answer for yourself, it’s also one of the first questions a potential buyer will ask and your response can have a major impact on the...
Fri 07th February 2020
Business Sellers and Entrepreneurs’ Relief
As the upcoming Budget planned for the 11th March 2020 approaches, business sellers are faced with the question of whether to sell in order to capitalise on Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) in its current form. Speculation on the future of this particular tax break originated from the Conservative Party election manifesto where ER was targeted as...
Fri 03rd January 2020
Will 2020 be good for selling your business?
Brexit and the elections dominated the news in 2019, and Brexit part 2 – “the trade deal” will be a feature of 2020. However, with a general loosening of austerity post-election, some commentators in the investment community are predicting the UK economy may get a boost in 2020. The election result also removes market fears...
Tue 03rd December 2019
Negotiating a business sale: 4 myths debunked
When it comes to selling your business, both you and the potential buyer want to get the best price. So there’s often a fair amount of negotiation involved to land on a price that both sides deem fair. Negotiation can be a tricky thing to get right and, to compound matters, there are a number...
Wed 13th November 2019
When is the right time to sell your business?
This is a question that’s often posed by business owners who are deciding between selling their business now or waiting to achieve a potentially higher valuation. It’s a tricky decision to make but, to be blunt, unless you’re selling your business because you’re looking to retire, or for other personal circumstances, there are only two...
Sat 02nd November 2019
Seeking help to prepare your business for sale
We are often asked by business owners, what should I do to make my business sellable at the best price? Our response is make sure the business is sustainable. Make sure the business can run without you, develop your management team, identify a key person(s) as a potential general manager or MD replacement. Reduce customer...
Wed 09th October 2019
Are you a Leveraged Buy-Out (LBO) buyer?
Over the last year we have received an increasing number of enquiries from individual investors and investment groups, who are looking for leveraged buy-out (LBO) deals. Such deals can work in cases where there are significant balance sheet assets and a business owner/director who is open to taking the risk on the deferred element of...
Mon 09th September 2019
Don’t Fall for Attractive Valuations
Selling your business can be a challenging process. For most business owners, it’s likely to be the first and only time that you will be doing so. Taking the decision to sell and engaging the services of a business broker to determine the value of your business is the first step into unknown territory, requiring...
Tue 09th July 2019
Can anyone buy a business?
Over the last year we have received an increasing number of enquiries from individual investors and investment groups, some of whom are open to putting equity into a deal and some who are looking for a purely leveraged buyout. Many deals will involve an element of deferred payment and/or earnout. However, a purely leveraged buyout...
Wed 05th June 2019
A checklist for selling your business
Article updated May 2024 If you are thinking about selling your business, it’s important to first work through the details that will help you maximise the value and make your business more attractive to potential buyers. With that in mind, we have identified 10 points to consider before and during the sale of your business....
Tue 30th April 2019
8 Reasons Why Business Owners Hold Back on Selling Their Business
In meeting and talking with business owners, we come across some quite common challenges in making the decision to sell a business. We’ve put together 8 common quandaries which often hold business owners back and have the potential to delay or even derail their retirement from the business. 1. Will everyone find out the business...
Wed 06th March 2019
5 Golden Rules for Successful Business Sales
Over the years, we’ve helped sell a lot of businesses and learned important lessons in the process – achieving an 80% business sales success rate along the way. In supporting many businesses through the sales process, we’ve distilled key elements which ensure successful business sales: we call them the 5 Golden Rules – and we’ve...
Mon 18th February 2019
Business Broker, Business Transfer Agent, M&A boutique or Corporate Finance practice?
In this article we are unashamedly doing a bit of naval gazing – considering where we fit into the world of business intermediaries and how do clients refer to us as an industry? There are a number of names for business intermediaries who are in the business of business sales, mergers and acquisitions. These include...
Sat 09th February 2019
Why use a business broker ?
After years of building your business the time might be right to sell. But how do you do that? Should you try to market it yourself, add it to a listings website or use a business broker? Selling yourself could mean you fail to achieve the full valuation of your company. And, as around 80...
Fri 18th January 2019
Will 2019 be a good year for selling your business?
Outlook for sales of owner managed businesses in 2019 Questions we are often asked by prospective sellers of businesses, are “What is the market like at the moment?” and “Is Brexit affecting buyers’ appetite for acquisitions?” From our perspective, appetite for acquisition remains strong. As of January, out of the seven new sale mandates we...
Mon 26th November 2018
Tech Buyers Be-aware: When to ask questions during the business sale process
Tech businesses tend to attract prospective buyers with a lot of questions. This observation came out of a recent conversation with my colleague, Mark Sykes, who had recently experienced an all-too-familiar scenario where a buyer who had, for a period of time, been enthusiastically asking for more information about the company – only to be...
Mon 24th September 2018
Taxes due on selling a business
Rather a dry topic, but nonetheless an important one for business owners considering the sale of their business. In considering the net value you will receive for your business, you will need to consider the taxes due on completing a sale. We are often asked by sellers whether they should sell the “business assets and...
Fri 21st September 2018
Fees for selling a business
Together with the potential business valuation, what fees you will incur in the transaction is an important factor. Fees will generally fall into three camps: accountancy, legal and broker fees. 1 – Accountancy fees: These will usually be for the additional support required from your accountant for tax planning and support during the due...
Fri 22nd June 2018
Why does selling your business become more difficult once you are over 70?
At Hornblower we sell over 80% of the business sale assignments we take on. Most of these are sold within 12 months of our starting our marketing campaigns, a third are sold within 6 months. And we have now sold all, that’s 100% of the business sale mandates we took on in 2016. Whilst a...
Sat 17th March 2018
Is 2018 a good year for selling your business?
In the first quarter of 2018 we have completed 5 deals and secured offers on another 3 mandates. There is currently strong demand for the majority of our sales mandates, and we see conditions being very much a seller’s market. There are many buyers and too few acquisition opportunities. The number of business owners deciding...
Fri 16th February 2018
Negotiating win-win business deals
This month we are sharing an article written by Terry Irwin at TCii Business Consultants and Acquisition Integration specialists. Whilst written for all business negotiations, it is particularly pertinent when negotiating a business sale. For the full article, please click here. Rather than approaching negotiations as a mutual problem-solving process, most CEOs see it as...
Fri 19th January 2018
Do I sell my company now or build it for 2 years more?
This is a question often posed by owners contemplating the sale of their business. The answer lies in whether what they are able to achieve in the next 2 to 3 years will actually add value compared to what they could achieve were they to put the business on the market for sale now. There...
Fri 18th August 2017
What is the market like for selling your business?
With the holiday season in full swing, and the occasional ray of sunshine, we often find that July and August is a time when business owners take a step back and reflect on their future, both personally and for the business, and consider a business sale. One of the questions we are frequently asked is:...
Mon 27th March 2017
Records that Convince Business Buyers to Pay Top Dollar
There’s an old adage about the ABCs of record keeping: They are a) knowing what to keep b) knowing what to shred and c) knowing the difference between A and B. In other words, don’t keep a record unless the record is earning its keep. That’s good advice as far as running a business is...
Mon 20th March 2017
Who will buy your business?
In our last two posts, we have looked at the most common reasons to sell a business and the best time to retire and exit from a business. This month we look at the other side: buyers. Who is buying businesses? The type of buyer will vary according the size and nature of the business,...
Mon 20th February 2017
Why would you sell your business?
The reason for sale is one of the first questions asked by buyers and it can have a major impact on the sellability and value of a business. If the reasons do not stack up, it can give the perception that the seller is selling because the business is in trouble. In deciding whether to...
Fri 20th January 2017
Will 2017 be a good year for selling your business?
2016 was another good year for Hornblower and the M&A market in general. We have been busy especially during December and January so far reaching heads of terms on four of our sale mandates. The number of business owners deciding to sell has remained steady, but at the same time there is an increasing number...
Thu 13th October 2016
How Long Will It Take To Sell My Business?
(updated 19th November 2023) One of the first questions we get whenever we talk to potential clients about this is, “how long is this whole process going to take?” And we get it – it’s a massive decision to sell your business and knowing typically how long the process is going to take can help...
Thu 28th July 2016
Will Brexit affect the sale of your business?
It is now over a month since the Brexit vote and we have seen many changes in the political landscape. However, on the ground in the world of selling owner managed businesses, there seems to be little impact so far. Despite the usual slowdown in activity over the summer, we continue to receive a good...
Wed 10th February 2016
Finding an international buyer for your business
In the past few months, we have concluded a number of M&A deals with overseas buyers – and we are continuing to receive interest from international buyers for a number of our UK based clients’ businesses which we are marketing for sale. Recent deals include: The sale of a £2m Commercial Cleaning Company to an...
Fri 13th March 2015
Before You Sell: Remember to review your ICT service contracts to realise their full value
Updated 17 June 2024 Our ongoing mantra is that the value of your ICT business lies predominantly in your service contracts. They are absolutely the jewel in your crown so it pays to make sure they stand up to buyer scrutiny! Review your contract documentation for improvements You want to ensure that your client,...
Fri 27th February 2015
5 rules of financial management that will increase the value of your ICT business
Article updated May 2024 Whilst a trade buyer’s desire to acquire your ICT business will be driven by the strength of your service contracts and operational prowess, their valuation will always be based on your financial performance. It is therefore paramount to provide them clear financial information so that they can make their best offer....
Fri 13th February 2015
3 key objectives for developing your ICT business’ operational team
Developing effective operational teams is key to maximising the value that a buyer will pay for your business – ICT, Engineering, SaaS – whatever your industry, this is always the case. Assuming that you are planning to leave the business when you sell, any buyer will look for a strong 2nd tier management structure which...
Fri 30th January 2015
5 top tips on Sales and Marketing to maximise the value of your ICT business
Updated 15th January 2024 As we discussed in an earlier edition “Who would buy your IT support / telecoms business?“, buyers of ICT companies with revenues in the £500k to £5m bracket are most likely to be strategic trade buyers and one of the key elements of their acquisition is your client base. In putting...
Mon 26th January 2015
Will 2015 be a good year for selling your business?
2014 was another very good year for Hornblower and the M&A market in general. The number of business owners deciding to sell continues to increase, and at the same time there is an increasing number of active buyers with funds. We are very positive about 2015 and here is why: Positive growth forecasts for the...
Fri 16th January 2015
How to maximise the value of your ICT business?
So far we have looked at valuations, deal structures and what are the tipping points that drive sales and acquisition activity between SME’s in the IT support and telecoms market. Where your business sits within the upper and lower limits of the valuation range will depend on the strength of your business. It is factors...
Thu 11th December 2014
When valuing your business, how much is enough?
‘Achieving financial independence’ is the most common long-term objective of entrepreneurs. Any business owners contemplating the possible sale of their business probably have a figure in mind which they feel represents a fair valuation for the business, but the true value will only be confirmed as what a buyer eventually pays. However, it is far...
Wed 24th September 2014
Is now the right time to sell your business?
Article updated: September 2024 The timing of the sale of your business is closely linked with the reasons for selling. The reasons why to sell a business can be personal, due to retirement or ill health, or led by the business cycle and your investment objectives. (Click here to read the article: “Why do business...
Fri 09th May 2014
Value of service contracts for ICT businesses
Article updated: September 2024 The value of service contracts: are longer term contracts worth more than short term, 30 day notice, contracts ? Service contracts are a key revenue source for ICT businesses, alongside management services, ad-hoc projects, and hardware/software sales. These contracts provide predictable income and allow for better financial forecasting. The length of...
Thu 10th April 2014
Four International Deals Completed in the last 12 months
In the last twelve months, Hornblower has completed four international deals, our last one being just last week: The sale of a AU$ 24m construction and engineering company in Queensland, Australia. The company was sold to a major civil engineering and construction group in Australia. The deal completed within 8 months of our approaching the...