Can we help you sell your business?
Yes, if you own or hold shares in an established UK business and you are considering a sale. We act only for owners and shareholders, never for buyers, and we manage the whole process: preparing the business, identifying credible acquirers, approaching them discreetly, negotiating terms and seeing the transaction through to completion.
Owners come to us in three broad situations. Some have decided to sell outright and want the process run properly. Some want to release capital or reduce personal risk without leaving, which usually points towards a partial sale or strategic investment. Many are undecided and simply want an informed view of what their business might be worth, who would realistically buy it and what would need to change before going to market.
All three are legitimate starting points. An initial conversation is confidential, carries no obligation and often clarifies the question before it answers it.
Sell all or part?
Selling a business does not have to mean selling all of it. Four structures cover most transactions, and the right one depends on how much capital you want now, how involved you want to remain and how much future value you are prepared to share.
Full sale
All shares transfer, you receive the agreed consideration and step away, sometimes after a short handover. Maximum certainty, no further participation in growth. See when a full exit is the right route.
Majority sale with rollover equity
You sell more than half, release significant capital and retain a minority stake alongside the new owner. Governance terms matter because control has passed. See selling a majority stake and staying involved.
Minority investment
You sell less than half to a growth investor or strategic partner and keep control. Often used to fund growth or reduce personal financial concentration. See how minority stake sales work.
Staged exit
You sell a stake now and the remainder later, once the business has grown with the new partner's support. Can produce a higher total return than a single sale today. See the two-stage exit strategy.
What might your business be worth?
Valuation is a range, not a number. Most UK lower mid-market businesses are valued on a multiple of adjusted EBITDA: sustainable earnings, normalised for one-off costs, owner remuneration and anything that will not continue under new ownership.
The multiple reflects risk and opportunity. Recurring revenue, a capable management team, diversified customers, contracted income and credible growth all push it up. Owner dependency, customer concentration and volatile earnings push it down. A trade buyer able to realise genuine synergies can justify more than a purely financial buyer, which is why buyer selection affects value as much as performance does.
It is also worth separating enterprise value from what shareholders actually receive. Debt, cash, working capital adjustments, deferred consideration and earn-outs all sit between the headline figure and the money in your account.
How UK businesses are valued, in detailWho might buy your business?
The right buyer depends on what you want from the transaction. Four groups account for most UK lower mid-market deals.
Trade buyers
Operating companies in your sector or adjacent markets, acquiring for strategic reasons such as shared customers, capability or geographic reach. Often the strongest value, and usually a longer holding period.
Private equity
Investment firms acquiring majority stakes, providing capital and governance, and planning a second exit within roughly three to seven years. Structured and financially disciplined.
Family offices and private investors
Patient capital with longer horizons and lighter governance. Often a good fit where the owner wants a supportive partner rather than a fund timetable.
Management and shareholder-led transactions
A buyout by your existing leadership team, or a purchase of shares by continuing shareholders. Preserves culture, but is constrained by available funding.
How we protect confidentiality
For most owners the greatest concern is not finding a buyer, but employees, customers, suppliers and competitors learning about a sale too early. The process is run to control both who is approached and what they see.
Selective buyer approaches
Acquirers are identified and approached individually on a no-name basis. The business is not advertised unless you specifically ask for a wider process.
NDA before detailed disclosure
Nothing beyond an anonymous profile is released until appropriate confidentiality protections are signed.
Staged release of information
Commercially sensitive detail, such as customer names and contract terms, is held back until a buyer has demonstrated genuine, funded interest.
Owner approval over buyer contact
No party is contacted and no material information is released without your authority. You can exclude named competitors from the outset.
No adviser can promise absolute confidentiality in every circumstance. A controlled, selective process substantially reduces the risk, and protects your negotiating position at the same time. For owners whose main concern is their team, we look at how to sell a business without employees finding out in more detail.
How the sale process works
A sale is a managed process rather than an event. Six stages cover most transactions.
- 1
Initial discussion
Your objectives, the business, realistic valuation parameters and whether a full sale, partial sale or investment is the better route.
- 2
Preparation
Confidential sale materials, normalised financial information and a clear account of the value drivers a buyer will pay for.
- 3
Buyer research
A targeted list of trade buyers, investors and other credible acquirers, agreed with you before anyone is contacted.
- 4
Confidential approach
Discreet contact, NDAs, then controlled information release and management meetings.
- 5
Offers and negotiation
Comparing indicative offers on price, structure, conditions, earn-outs and deferred consideration, then agreeing heads of terms.
- 6
Due diligence to completion
The buyer's investigation, legal documentation and close, alongside your legal and tax advisers.
On timing, expect several months rather than weeks. Six to twelve months from engagement to completion is common, and transactions can take longer where the business needs preparation, where buyers move slowly, or where due diligence uncovers matters that take time to resolve. We set out how long it takes to sell a business, stage by stage, in more detail, and the legal considerations when selling a business separately.
The full sell-side M&A process, stage by stagePreparing before going to market
Preparation is the single biggest influence on outcome. Six areas account for most of the difference between a strong process and a difficult one.
- Management depth — a business that runs without the owner is worth more and sells more easily.
- Financial information — clean, timely accounts with defensible adjustments and reliable management reporting.
- Contracts — signed customer, supplier, property and employment agreements, with change-of-control terms understood.
- Customer concentration — reducing reliance on a small number of accounts before a buyer tests it.
- Recurring revenue — contracted or repeat income, evidenced rather than asserted.
- Due diligence readiness — the information a buyer will request, gathered and checked in advance.
Once buyers become interested
Interest is the beginning of the negotiation, not the end of the process. What follows usually runs in this order.
Indicative offers
Non-binding proposals setting out price, structure and assumptions. Useful for comparison, but not yet a commitment.
Management meetings
Buyers meet you and the team, test the growth story and form a view on fit. Preparation here materially affects confidence and price.
Comparing price and structure
The highest headline number is not always the best offer. Cash at completion, deferred consideration, earn-out conditions, warranties and working capital all change what you actually receive.
Preferred bidder and heads of terms
One party is selected and the key commercial terms are documented, usually with a period of exclusivity.
Due diligence
Financial, legal, commercial and sometimes technical investigation. Managed carefully so the business keeps trading well.
Legal documentation and completion
Share purchase agreement, disclosure letter and ancillary documents, negotiated alongside your solicitors through to close.
Maintaining trading performance throughout matters. If results slip during the process, buyers will reflect it in price or terms.
Why Mergers.co.uk
Sell-side only
We represent business owners and shareholders. We do not act for buyers, so there is no divided interest.
Confidential, direct buyer approach
Acquirers are researched and approached individually rather than the business being listed or advertised.
Experienced negotiation
Offers are assessed on structure as well as price: earn-outs, deferred consideration, working capital and warranties.
Owner-led advice
You deal directly with experienced M&A advisers throughout, not a delegated team.
Over 20 years advising on UK business sales, and more than 150 completed transactions across full sales, partial sales and strategic investments.
Frequently asked questions
Your next step
Tell us a little about the business and what you are considering. We will come back to you to arrange a confidential conversation.
Nothing is shared with any buyer without your authority, and an initial discussion does not commit you to a sale. You can also call us on 0330 133 2020.