Confidential UK business sales
Sell Your Business Confidentially With Expert UK Exit Advisers.
EXITS.co.uk helps owners of established UK businesses prepare, value and confidentially sell their companies, identifying and approaching suitable trade buyers and strategic acquirers directly.
Confidential. No obligation. Nothing is marketed or disclosed without your authority.
All enquiries are handled by experienced advisers and dealmakers with real business sale and transaction experience. You will speak with someone who understands the process, can assess your situation quickly and provide clear, confidential guidance on the most appropriate next steps.
Specialists in confidential UK business exits
Why EXITS.co.uk
EXITS.co.uk exists for one reason: to help business owners achieve the right exit.
Tony Vaughan · Director, Exit Partners Limited
Most owners only sell a substantial business once, so the process deserves proper attention. EXITS.co.uk provides specialist business brokerage and business sale advisory services for owners who want a confidential, adviser led approach rather than simply listing their business for sale.
A business is not placed on a marketplace and left waiting for enquiries. Suitable trade buyers and strategic acquirers are researched and approached directly, with confidentiality controlled at every stage. The objective is a considered, well negotiated exit for the owner, not a volume of enquiries.
Good fit
Is Your Business a Good Fit?
We work with owners of established, privately owned UK businesses who are considering a full or partial sale, often for reasons of retirement, succession, reducing day to day involvement, or realising value they have spent years building.
Most owners we act for run established SME businesses with turnover up to approximately £5 million. That is an indication of where the service fits, not a threshold: larger and smaller businesses are considered individually, and the common factor is circumstance rather than size. If a confidential, targeted approach to suitable buyers feels more appropriate than open advertising, it is worth a conversation.
- Approaching retirement
- Succession with no internal buyer
- Reducing personal involvement
- A full or partial sale
- Realising value already created
- Changing personal priorities
Not sure if your business fits our criteria? Tell us a little about your company and we will give you an initial view, in confidence and without obligation.
Request a Confidential ReviewHow a confidential sale is managed
Managing every stage of your exit
One adviser carries the mandate from preparation through buyer research, approach and qualification, offer discussions, negotiation and progression to completion, so nothing is handed between desks and no context is lost at the point it matters.
- 01
Prepare
Establish the value position, tidy the numbers and remove the issues that cost money in diligence.
- 02
Market
Named acquirers approached under NDA. No public listing, no open advertisement.
- 03
Negotiate
Structure, price, deferred elements and warranties negotiated with the owner's priorities in front.
- 04
Complete
Diligence managed to a close, with legal advisers working to an agreed timetable.
How disclosure is controlled
Staff, customers, suppliers and competitors are protected from unnecessary disclosure throughout.
- 1Potential buyers first receive anonymised information that does not identify your business.
- 2Identifying details (name, location, customers and staff) are withheld at this stage.
- 3Interest is qualified before anything further is released.
- 4Confidentiality arrangements are put in place before sensitive information is shared.
- 5Information is then released progressively, and only with your authority.
Evidence of experience
Experience that matters when it is your business
The advisory team behind EXITS.co.uk brings experience from more than 150 completed business transactions, supported here by selected examples of completed sales. Each entry records the sector and the circumstances of the sale as they were reported at completion. Prices, buyer identities and seller names are not published, and details are anonymised wherever confidentiality requires it.
- 01Engineering & industrial services · Completed 2025Air Compressor Equipment, Parts & ServicingSupply, parts and servicing of air compressor equipment.Established over 35 years, grown organicallyPrivate and commercial customers, including blue-chip companiesAlso served public health and police authoritiesSale completed
- 02Business & professional services · Completed 2025Storage & Removal SpecialistsStorage and removals provider serving commercial clients and individuals.Established over 30 years, grown organicallyComprehensive service across storage and removalsSale completed
- 03Business & professional services · Completed 2025Security System Installation & Maintenance ServicesSecurity system installation and maintenance business, located in the UK.Established over 30 years, grown organicallyRange extended from locks, safes and alarms to wider security solutionsClients include homeowners, businesses and public sector organisationsSale completed
Who you deal with
Tony Vaughan
Business owner, dealmaker and exit adviser
Tony Vaughan has more than 30 years of business and entrepreneurial experience, having built and run companies of his own before advising other owners on sales, acquisitions and exits from 2010 onwards. He has worked on over 100 completed transactions and deals with owners directly rather than passing them down through layers of junior staff. He understands the realities of owning, growing and selling a privately owned business, and brings experienced judgement and straightforward advice to every stage of a transaction.
View Tony's full profileThe EXITS.co.uk proposition
What does EXITS.co.uk do?
EXITS.co.uk is a specialist UK business exit advisory service operated by Exit Partners Limited.
The service runs end to end: exit preparation and valuation, buyer research and identification, approach and qualification, negotiation, and deal progression through diligence to completion under one adviser, Tony Vaughan.
Buyer market
What acquirers are looking for
A sample of the acquisition requirements EXITS.co.uk is currently working on behalf of. They are shown to indicate the type and origin of the buyer demand encountered through this work, not to advertise a business for sale.
- Acquisition requirementManufacturer of Tools & Equipment for the HVAC/AC Industry
- Sector
- Manufacturing
- Acquirer
- US-based Trade Buyer with Private Equity Support
- Acquisition requirementManufacturers of Forensic Products & Equipment
- Sector
- Manufacturing
- Acquirer
- UK-based Trade Buyer with Private Equity Support
- Acquisition requirementManufacturer of High Technology Engineered Products
- Sector
- Manufacturing
- Acquirer
- German-based Trade Buyer with Private Equity Support
Advisory work in progress
Businesses currently represented
Examples of confidential mandates on which EXITS.co.uk is retained. These are not public advertisements: the businesses are not identified, and information is released only to qualified parties under confidentiality arrangements.
- Workplace Behaviour Training & ConsultancyBusiness & professional services · Retained mandate · Identity withheldEnquire under NDA
- Specialist Furniture Manufacturer and RetailerManufacturing · Retained mandate · Identity withheldEnquire under NDA
- Niche ePOS Software SystemTechnology & IT services · Retained mandate · Identity withheldEnquire under NDA
Insights and guidance
View allInsight / guidance article
When a Business Sale Isn't Only About Money
Some owners choose a lower offer from a buyer who will keep staff on, preserve the brand or agree a gradual handover, rather than accept the highest bid. Building these priorities into the process fro
Insight / guidance article
Building buyer trust through transparency without oversharing
Buyer trust is built through a credible, consistent process rather than early full disclosure. Sharing detail in the right order, matched to the buyer's level of commitment, protects value while still
Insight / guidance article
How to Keep Buyers Engaged in a Slow Market
Keeping buyers engaged in a slow market depends on maintaining a structured process, responding to information requests promptly, and treating buyer caution as a normal response to wider conditions ra
For professional advisers
Work With EXITS.co.uk
If you have clients who are considering a future business exit, EXITS.co.uk can provide specialist support on a confidential and professional basis.
We work with professional advisers, accountants, solicitors, consultants and other trusted introducers whose clients may need support with business valuation, exit planning or a confidential business sale.
Our role is to complement the existing adviser relationship, not replace it. Where appropriate, we can work alongside the client's existing professional advisers throughout the process.
Introduce a Client- Specialist supportBusiness ValuationEvidence-based valuation for owners considering a future sale.
- Specialist supportExit PlanningDecide whether, when and how to exit before the business goes anywhere near a buyer.
- Specialist supportConfidential Business SaleNamed, qualified acquirers approached under NDA. No public listing.
Common questions
Questions owners ask before starting
What does EXITS.co.uk do?
EXITS.co.uk is a specialist UK business exit advisory service operated by Exit Partners Limited. It helps owners of established UK businesses prepare, value and confidentially sell their companies, identifying and approaching suitable trade buyers and strategic acquirers directly rather than advertising the business publicly.
How is confidentiality protected during a business sale?
Potential buyers first receive anonymised information that does not identify the business. Identifying details are withheld, interest is qualified before anything further is released, confidentiality arrangements are put in place before sensitive information is shared, and information is then released progressively and only with the owner's authority.
What size of business does EXITS.co.uk work with?
EXITS.co.uk typically works with established, privately owned UK SME businesses with turnover up to approximately £5 million. This is an indication of where the service usually fits rather than a strict threshold, and every situation is considered individually.
How experienced is the advisory team?
The advisory team behind EXITS.co.uk brings experience from more than 150 completed business transactions. Enquiries are handled by Tony Vaughan or one of his experienced team members.
Is my business advertised or listed for sale?
No. EXITS.co.uk is not a marketplace. Suitable acquirers are researched and approached directly under confidentiality arrangements, and nothing is marketed, listed or disclosed without the owner's written instruction.
What does it cost to start a conversation?
An initial confidential conversation carries no cost and no obligation. It is used to establish the owner's objectives and whether a confidential sale process is appropriate.
Start with one confidential conversation.
Tell us what you are considering and we will tell you, plainly, whether a confidential sale process is the right route and what it would involve. No cost, no obligation, and nothing is marketed, listed or disclosed without your written instruction.
Confidential. No obligation. Nothing is marketed or disclosed without your authority.