Developing An Exit Strategy
Aquila Partners are here to help you plan the exit from your business. This can be a process that can take a considerable period of time, therefore ensuring business owners understand the options available to them and that we truly understands the business owners goals is essential for a successful exit or transition.
Our team works with you to ensure that you achieve the best possible outcome for yourself and your business and that your exit is handled with the utmost care, professionalism and adaptability.
We will
We understand that selling a business can be a daunting task. That’s why we’re here to help you every step of the way. Our team of experts will guide you through the entire process, from start to finish, ensuring that you get the best possible outcome.
Here’s what we can do for you:
Thoroughly analyse your business to identify its strengths and areas for improvement.
Provide advice on how to handle taxes for both the business and its owners.
Suggest the best time to put your business on the market.
Prepare a detailed pack for potential buyers, showcasing why your business is a great buy.
Conduct research to find the right buyers for your business.
Help you negotiate to get the best price and terms when selling your business.
Ensure the sale is set up in a tax-friendly way.
Handle all the detailed checks for you.
Support you until the sale is complete.
We understand that every business is unique, and we’ll work with you to create a customized plan that meets your specific needs. Our goal is to make the process as smooth and stress-free as possible, so you can focus on what you do best - running your business.
Please let us know if you have any questions or if there’s anything else we can do to help. We’re here for you!
Exit methods
There are a number of approaches that come under the terminology of exiting a business. This can include one of these methods or a mixture of the exiting methods below,
Partial Exit
A partial exit could mean selling some of your shares to a private equity firm or another investor for example whilst retaining a portion of your shares. This allows you to realise some of your success but remain actively engaged with your business.
Trade Sale
This usually entails selling your business to another business operating in a similar sector who wish to increase their market share. This can sometimes entail you having to remain involved with the business to oversee and assist with the transition.
Shareholder Intentions
When a business has multiple owners, some shareholders may wish to leave the business to retire, go onto other ventures or just realise the hard work they have put in over the previous years whilst others want to remain engaged and working in the business. In this situation it can sometimes be difficult to ensure that the operations of the business are not harmed if someone crucial exits so Aquila can help facilitate this and ensure that proper procedures are in place to protect the shareholders who wish to exit, the existing shareholders and the business as a whole.
Selling via a MBI (Management Buy-In) or MBO (Management Buy-Out)
An MBI or MBO allows for the existing management team to either buyout the owner entirely and therefore take ownership of the business or buy a portion of the business. In an MBO the incoming or existing management team will assume responsibility for the success of the business.
Succession Planning
Many business owners naturally want to pass the businesses they have built to the next generation. Whilst this usually is agreed and understood by all parties many years in advance, it is crucial that all parties involved clearly understand the timeline and plan. Ensuring that the next generation understand the business is incredibly important in order to ensure that there is no disruption and that the business is not damaged in the process.
Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
An employee ownership trust is a method of exit whereby your employees purchase the business from the owner and the shares are then held in trust. The minimum percentage of shares that the EOT purchases must be a controlling amount of the business, so 51%. An EOT allows for employees to potentially benefit from bonuses paid out from the trust, some of which are tax free. In certain circumstances, an EOT can also lead to employee empowerment which can drive the personal growth of our staff and growth of the business into the future. Exit via EOT has significant tax incentives that make it attractive and useful in certain cases.
Valuation maximisation
The business you have built is the culmination of years of hard work, stress and risk which means when you are deciding to exit that business, you rightfully want to rewarded as fairly as possible for the considerable effort you have put in.
From our bespoke research and developed understanding of the market your business operates in, Aquila institutes a program that makes your business as attractive as it can be for potential buyers and generate as much interest as possible.
Aquila can then utilise our network and potentially source suitable purchasers who are looking for new acquisitions. This could range from UHNW individuals to M&A consultants, corporations and private equity firms.
Real Life Examples
Property Management Business (Anon
A property management and construction business which the owner wished to sell due to the stress of managing the business and net profit substantially decreasing over the previous years. We aimed to make the business as attractive to buyers as possible and from our research this business was becoming too time consuming for potential buyers. Therefore we reformed the board, changed the hiring procedures of the business and brought in a professional management team. Alongside this we brought in more integrative practices to simplify the businesses operations. The result of these changes were that the business experienced record profits and became significantly less time consuming for the owner to manage. Due to this they decided to not sell their business and instead properly enjoy the fruits of their labours.
Laser Eye Surgery Practice
A laser eye surgery practice which was operating successfully the owners wished to sell their equity in the business and realise their success. We were brought on to make the business as attractive to potential buyers as possible. After an initial valuation and ensuring that all parties were aligned we set out to gather as much information about the business as possible. Once this information was gathered we implemented data driven reforms which increased the valuation as significantly as possible by boosting efficiency and margins whilst also making the business simpler to operate for potential new owners. This resulted in a trade sale to a European business based business wishing to expand its presence in the UK for 4x the initial valuation. The exiting Managing Director stated that our services, ‘helped us to achieve an exit event value materially beyond anything achievable at the start of the process.’ This left the new owners with a functionally more profitable business and the former owners with a sum of capital which they previously could not have believed possible.