Helping our clients achieve their potential
Getting the best deal when selling a business
The situation: A client in the medical sector wanted to sell his practice, but was unsure of a realistic sale valuation.
He had obtained valuations from several brokers who wished to sell the business on his behalf, but he believed they may be inflating the price to acquire the contract to sell.
The solution: We carried out valuation reports reviewing the business’ last 4 years’ accounts.
These reports included identifying costs that the acquiring party may not have to incur and adjusting for any future staffing costs that the present owners were currently meeting. We included various valuation methods, with each method giving a different result. From this we were able to provide a guide price for the practice and ensure the practice was advertised accordingly.
An offer was received for the practice and we then assisted the seller through the process, providing further reports and schedules for the purchaser.
We worked alongside the solicitors to draft the terms, warranties and heads of agreement. We also negotiated with solicitors and the purchaser over payment terms, so they were tax efficient for both parties. This resulted in a payment schedule that was spread over three years with the relevant guarantees.
We managed the share transfers and relevant stamp duty forms and advised our client that they could qualify for Entrepreneur’s Relief.
The outcome:
The client was happy as he successfully sold the practice for a fair price and he was able to enjoy his retirement.
The new owners of the business engaged our firm within 6 months of the sales process as they were very impressed with the service they received from Pocknells during the negotiations.