The first step, is answering the question “Should I sell my Business” and once you have this you can prepare for the sale. Kingswood can even help you reach this decision by offering you an initial free evaluation and discuss the current market conditions.

There is no magic number regarding when to start planning the sale of your business, however – the sooner, the better. It can take a good year to prepare before selling your firm, so you really do need as much time as you can afford, as there is a lot that needs to be prepared.

There are many things to be consider when selling your business:

• Tax planning
• Marketing conditions, potential buyers in the market
• Debt profile
• Economic cycle and conditions
• the age of equipment and investment needs
• access to funding

It is not hard to see why you need to start early and acquire good advice from the outset. It’s good to put together a checklist of everything to get through beforehand. As a professional adviser, these are all areas Kingswood can assist with.

• Get in touch with professional advisers. Don’t leave this until the last minute then expect to sell your business as soon as possible. If you engage an expert team from the start, they can answer the usual questions “how much is my business worth?”, plus assist with all aspects, from business valuation to negotiation.

• Prep your team – Last but not least, make sure that the team that you put into place is fully briefed on your objectives, goals and your desired outcome. This team may include internal members as well as external advisors. This will prove extremely beneficial and will ensure that you get the right balance.