Preparing Your Business for Sale
The Guide to Getting Your Business Ready for Sale
To maximise the value of your business on exit it’s imperative that you commence strategic planning work at least 18 months to 2 years out from sale.
Key elements that need to be considered in your strategic plan include:
Key Business Drivers
Understand the key drivers of the business.
Identify which of the drivers will have the greatest impact on the business valuation.
Competitive Environment
How are your products or services positioned in the market?
Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
How does your pricing structure compare to the competition?
Global Mergers & Acquisitions
Review global activity within your industry and understand the trends and key information.
Potential Buyers
Understand potential companies that could acquire your business.
What would they consider the most important value drivers?
Our 6-step guide to maximising value…
Key activities to undertake when preparing your exit plan.
Revenue & Margin Analysis
Understand which customers, products and markets generate the most revenue and the have the most attractive margins. This will drive improvements in performance, making your business more profitable and appeal more attractive to buyers.
Growth Plan & Scenario Assessment
Build a financial model that considers multiple scenarios to demonstrate how further profitable growth can be achieved to maximise your future sale value.
Overheads & Profitability
Analyse overheads and reduce fixed costs to enhance profit margins and increase the value of your business.
People
Create incentives for critical employees to remain in the business post the sale, to minimise risk for the buyer and to ensure the business valuation is defensible.
Financial Governance and Reference Books & Controls
Make sure that the business’ financial statements and accounting information is accurate. This will elicit compliance, assurance in numbers and transparency. Buyers like it when business operations run smoothly and efficiently so it is important to document business processes, review controls and update systems to improve the value and desirability of your business.
Data & Documentation
Ensure documentation required for the sale process is readily accessible to allow buyers to complete the due diligence quickly and efficiently. This will reduce risk for the buyer and maximising value for you.
Additional Funding
Top 3 key considerations for requesting additional funding for your business:
You have a guaranteed return on investment (ROI): You know if you have more money to invest you will be able to make an appropriate return.
Improve Financial Results: Additional investment will increase the revenue and gross margin of the business to cover the fixed costs and generate positive cashflow.
Overheads & Profitability: Additional investment / partnership will give the business a competitive advantage through new capability and linkage to the market.
How Whiteark can help?
With extensive experience working across a range of services, we embed ourselves within companies to drive value, and deliver on key metrics.
Maximise Revenue
o Develop future strategies for way forward
o Understand market opportunities
o Build flexible workforce planning models
o Develop strategy and plans around a Buy and Build model to generate revenue growth
o Data, analytics and diagnostic tools
o Build comprehensive strategies across the business
o Customer experience & optimisation
o Marketing optimisation
o Go-to-market approach
o Pricing and packaging
o Account based marketing model
o Develop key metric reporting, aligning incentives to drive the right outcomes
Optimise Cost Base
o Utilise data, analytics & diagnostics to fully understand opportunities
o Develop strategy and plans around a Buy and Build model to realise operational efficiencies
o Organisational re-design, including outsource options
o Sales resource optimisation, aligned with GTM strategy
o Process review and redesign
o Benchmarking of costs against other industries and similar organisations
o Marketing spend optimisation
o Contract review to drive an improvement in costs
o Activity based costing model developed to understand financial drivers
o Cost optimisation strategies around activity based costing, specific to the business
In addition to the above services, Whiteark can help you secure funding (seed, investment or debt) through our network so reach out to see how we can help you.
Reach out to us today for a no obligation conversation today.
