Sell your business confidentially.

How EXITS.co.uk sells a business

EXITS.co.uk helps owners of established UK SME businesses sell companies confidentially by researching and approaching suitable trade and strategic buyers, rather than advertising the business publicly. The business is prepared before it is shown, buyers are qualified before they are told who you are, and the sale runs to a process you control.

EXITS.co.uk provides specialist business brokerage and business sale advisory services using a confidential, adviser-led approach. That means one adviser accountable for your sale from the first conversation to completion, not a listing on a marketplace and a call centre behind it.

Enquiries come to Tony Vaughan, director of Exit Partners Limited, which operates EXITS.co.uk, and he stays involved through the process. The advisory team brings experience from more than 150 completed business transactions.

Selling a UK business, properly represented

Selling a business is usually a once-only transaction for the owner and a routine one for the buyer. That asymmetry decides most outcomes. EXITS.co.uk represents owner-managed UK companies in confidential, off-market sales: we establish what the business is realistically worth, prepare it so that the figures survive scrutiny, approach named acquirers rather than advertising publicly, and stay involved through negotiation and due diligence to completion.

This page sets out how a sale runs and what it asks of you. Where a subject needs more depth than a service page should carry, it links to the relevant guide.

Preparation and understanding value

Value is set by maintainable profit, the quality of the earnings behind it and the risk a buyer sees in acquiring them. We normalise owner remuneration and one-off items, look at customer concentration, recurring revenue and margin stability, and give you a reasoned range with the assumptions written down rather than a headline multiple. If the range is not what you had hoped for, it is far better to know before the market does.

Preparation is where most of the price is protected. Filed accounts and management figures need to reconcile, key contracts need to be signed and in date, and any dependency on you personally needs an answer. Work through the preparing a business for sale checklist first, and if you want a considered view of value before committing to anything, request a pre-sale business valuation.

Confidentiality and how we protect it

Nothing is advertised on a public marketplace and your company is never named in an approach you have not approved. Buyers first see an anonymised profile describing the activity, scale and attractions of the business without identifying it. Detailed information is released in stages once a non-disclosure agreement is signed, and sensitive material such as customer names is held back until a buyer is credible and committed.

Staff, customers and suppliers therefore learn about a sale when you decide they should, not through a listing. The mechanics, and what an NDA does and does not achieve, are covered in confidentiality and NDAs in a business sale.

Identifying buyers and approaching them

We research trade acquirers, buy-and-build platforms and funded individual buyers whose stated strategy fits your business, then agree the list with you before anyone is contacted. Approaches are made directly and in parallel, which is what creates genuine competition: several interested parties working to the same timetable produce better terms than one buyer negotiating alone. Interest is tested for funding and intent early, so time is not lost on parties who cannot complete.

Negotiation, heads of terms and deal structure

Headline price is only part of the outcome. Deferred consideration, earn-outs, warranties and indemnities, restrictive covenants and the treatment of cash, debt and working capital all determine what you actually receive and when. We negotiate the structure alongside the number and record the agreed outline in heads of terms before legal costs begin to build.

For the detail behind each of those terms, see heads of terms and deal structure, earn-outs and deferred consideration and cash-free debt-free transactions.

Due diligence and completion

Once heads of terms are signed, the buyer's accountants and solicitors verify what has been represented. Most deals that fail, fail here rather than in negotiation, usually because information arrives late or contradicts what was said earlier. We coordinate disclosure, keep the data room orderly and hold the timetable with your solicitors through to exchange and completion, including any agreed handover.

Preparing for that scrutiny in advance is the single most effective way to protect the price: see due diligence preparation, and how long it takes to sell a business for a realistic view of the timetable.

Choosing an adviser, and the mistakes that cost most

Ask any adviser who will actually run your sale, how buyers will be found, what is payable if the business does not sell, and how confidentiality is controlled. Judge the answers on specifics rather than on presentation. At EXITS.co.uk your sale is handled by the person you meet.

The mistakes that cost owners most are consistent: going to market before the numbers are ready, negotiating with a single buyer, agreeing a price without agreeing the structure behind it, and underestimating how long completion takes. Each of those is avoidable with preparation and a competitive process.

Practical next steps

Start with a confidential conversation. There is no fee and no obligation, and nothing is approached or disclosed without your agreement. If you are still some way from a decision, a valuation and a preparation plan are a sensible first step; if you would like to read further first, the business sale guides cover each stage in more depth.

If your exit is still a year or more away, the useful work happens before buyers are ever approached. Our exit planning guidance explains how to prepare the accounts, management structure and customer concentration so the business is ready when you decide to go to market.

How do I sell my business?

A UK company sale runs in six stages: establish a supported view of value, prepare the business and its information, research and approach qualified buyers under confidentiality, negotiate offers and agree heads of terms, complete due diligence, then exchange and complete. Most owner-managed sales take six to twelve months from preparation to completion, and preparation is where the price is protected.

How do I value my business before selling?

Value is normally assessed on a multiple of maintainable earnings, usually adjusted EBITDA, tested against the risk a buyer takes on and the appetite of the buyers who would realistically bid. A pre-sale business valuation sets out that range and the specific factors that move it, before anything is taken to market.

How are buyers found?

Buyers are researched, not waited for. We identify trade acquirers, buy-and-build platforms and funded individual buyers whose stated strategy fits your business, then approach them directly with an anonymised profile. You approve the list before anyone is contacted.

Can a business be sold confidentially?

Yes. A confidential business sale means the company is never named publicly, the opportunity is not advertised on an open marketplace, and buyers receive an anonymised profile first. Your identity is disclosed only to buyers you have approved, and only after they have signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Will employees know the business is for sale?

Not unless and until you decide to tell them. Staff, customers and suppliers learn about a sale when you choose, usually close to or after completion. Nothing in the marketing process identifies the business to the market.

Can I approve which buyers are contacted?

Yes. You see and approve the target list before any approach is made, and you can exclude any competitor, customer, supplier or individual without giving a reason.

How are offers and heads of terms handled?

Offers are compared on structure as well as headline price: how much is payable at completion, what is deferred, what depends on future performance, and what you are asked to warrant. Heads of terms record the agreed commercial position before legal costs are incurred; they are largely non-binding but in practice set the terms the rest of the deal is built on.

What happens during due diligence?

Once heads of terms are signed, the buyer's accountants and solicitors verify what has been represented: financial records, contracts, employment matters, property, tax and compliance. Most transactions that fail, fail here, because something surfaces that was not disclosed earlier.

How are fees agreed?

Fees are agreed in writing before any work starts, and are set out in the engagement letter. You will know what is payable, when, and what happens if the business does not sell, before you commit to anything.

Who will I deal with?

You deal with the same adviser throughout. Tony Vaughan, director of Exit Partners Limited, handles enquiries personally and remains involved from the first conversation through to completion.

Confidentiality and terms

EXITS.co.uk is a trading style of Exit Partners Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 11721705). Engagement terms, including fees and notice, are set out in writing before any work begins and are available on request.