If you are a fan of the TV show, ‘Love It or List It’ you will recognise the formula. A family is given the choice between a make-over of their current home, courtesy of Kirstie Allsopp, and a new home found for them by Phil Spencer. At the end of the show, the family is asked of their refurbished home whether they will ‘love it’ and stay or ‘list it’ and move. What has this got to do with your business?
As a business owner, your relationship with your company will be complex and will vary over time. At some points in your business journey, you will have (and hopefully still do) ‘love’ your business – maybe to the extent that you can never envisage giving it up. However, at some point your stewardship of the business will come to an end – by choice, or otherwise – and you will ‘list it’. That is inevitable so why not make the ending (your exit) as positive as possible?
Over the past twelve months the love for your business may have been stretched to the limit. Hopefully, you have been able to navigate through the pandemic, whether that be in survival mode or more positively by keeping stable or thriving if you have been in one of 2020’s boom sectors. You may however have concluded that you don’t want to go through that again and wish to exit your business in the foreseeable future. If that is in two to five years you are in a perfect position to commence your exit planning.
Whether you love it or not your business will need your care, focus and attention if you are to exit in the best possible way – that means at a time and under conditions of your choosing. Like a house sale your business needs to be attractive to potential buyers – be they your management team, a strategic buyer or an investor. Even a growing and profitable business, which may on the surface seem attractive, may need help to sell and create the value you desire at exit.
That is where we come in. A combination of many years of working with owner managed service companies and a structured yet flexible process will determine the outcome you want and build the plan you need to get there. Whether you are a sole owner, or one of a number of shareholders, we will work with you to achieve your desired outcome. Our aim is to set you on the course to list your business for a successful exit in two to five years’ time.
Referring back to the TV show, the most engaging conclusion is when a family undertakes the renovation and upgrade of their home, absolutely love it but then decide to list it and move on. The analogy with business ownership is clear: you invest in your company to build business wealth whilst developing and executing your exit plan. You have loved your business with the express intention to list it.
Contact us today if you would like a confidential conversation about your exit options. There’s no better time to start planning your future.