How do I go about selling my business? Corporate & Commercial

The key is early preparation. Once you have decided you want to sell, you should prepare your business for sale and plan the process both as to timing and marketing. You will need to work with accountants, lawyers and probably corporate finance advisers.

Be clear about what you are selling. If you are dividing a business and selling only part of it, you will need to identify all the elements that make up that business and what steps may be needed to separate the business from the retained activity.

Invest in due diligence prior to the sales process commencing. A corporate lawyer will carry out this process highlighting issues that a purchaser might be concerned with. If it can be avoided, it is better to manage issues in advance, rather than during the transaction process when there is financial and time pressure. By doing this issues that could impact on the selling price might be avoided.

Get expert help so you have a realistic price expectation and a plan to market the business to achieve the best price and terms. This will be based on assets, profitability and sales prices over recent years for companies of your size and type.

Look at both your corporate and personal tax position to plan how your affairs can be arranged to achieve an effective transaction from a tax perspective.

Selling a company or business can be an immensely complex process and, with so much at stake, it is vital that you appoint a trusted legal partner.

Download our guide to find out more.