The process
How to sell a business, without the fog.
Five stages, from the first number to money in your account. Here's exactly what happens in each, who does what, and how long it usually takes.
- 01
Value
2 minutes
Get your number.
Before anything else, find out roughly what your business could sell for. The calculator takes two minutes and needs no paperwork.
- You
- Type in your sales, profit and a few facts about how the business runs.
- Us
- Show you a realistic price range and the levers that would move it.
- 02
Prepare
2–4 weeks
See it the way a buyer will.
We look at your business through a buyer's eyes, tidy up the numbers and write a clear, honest profile of what they'd be buying.
- You
- Send your financial statements and answer our questions.
- Us
- Check your numbers, spot the weak points and prepare the profile buyers see.
- 03
Match
4–10 weeks
Meet buyers who can actually pay.
We quietly approach a hand-picked list of companies and investors. Your name stays hidden until a buyer signs a confidentiality agreement — and you approve them.
- You
- Say yes or no to each interested buyer.
- Us
- Find, vet and manage every buyer while you keep running the business.
- 04
Agree
6–12 weeks
Pick the best offer, side by side.
Every offer goes onto one page: the price, when you're paid, what happens to your team. You choose. Then the buyer checks your books.
- You
- Choose the offer that suits you and answer the buyer's questions.
- Us
- Negotiate price and terms, and run the buyer's checks with you.
- 05
Close
2–4 weeks
Sign. Hand over. Get paid.
The lawyers finalise the paperwork, the money moves safely, and your staff and customers meet the new owner the way you planned.
- You
- Sign the final agreement and help with a smooth handover.
- Us
- Manage the closing so nothing slips in the last mile.
The translator
Words you'll hear elsewhere — and what they mean.
- EBITDA
- Profit before tax, interest and wear-and-tear on equipment.
- Valuation multiple
- How many years of profit a buyer pays for your business.
- Heads of agreement
- A written offer you both agree on before the final contract.
- Due diligence
- The buyer checking your books, contracts and staff records.
- NDA
- A signed promise to keep everything about your business private.
- Earn-out
- Part of the price paid later, if the business hits agreed targets.
- Vendor finance
- You let the buyer pay part of the price over time.
- Going concern
- Selling the business as a working whole — staff, customers and all.
- Data room
- A private online folder where buyers read your documents.
- Restraint of trade
- Your promise not to open a competing business for a while.
Stage one takes two minutes.
Two minutes, no documents, no sign-up. Find out what your business could sell for today.