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Selling Your Business
How we deliver maximum value for you
Selling your business is a big decision, often the culmination of a lifetime’s work and carrying financial, professional and personal significance. Before you consider selling you will want and need to know the value of your business and how to prepare your business for a sale. As one of the longest serving corporate finance firms in London, when we work with you to sell your business, we do so having listened carefully to your objectives, always acting with your best interests in mind. Our aim is that every transaction on which we advise results in the optimal mix of the Corbett Keeling ‘3 Cs’: cash, certainty and chemistry.
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CashOur advice aims to maximise the amount you receive from selling your company and typically results in a 40% uplift in sale value
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CertaintyWe work to create certainty in the success of a sale and have a 90% deal completion rate
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ChemistryWe proactively seek a new owner who will help your company and your team to flourish
Before the process of preparing for a sale begins, you need to decide whether this is the right time for you to sell your business. We will work with you to analyse the factors that affect the current value of your company and identify implementable actions to improve profit growth and reduce risk, increasing value in the eyes of a buyer and preparing your company for the best time to sell, whether it’s now, in a few months’ time or even a year. To find out more about how to prepare your business for a sale, click here.
Our five stage sale process delivers maximum value for our clients:
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01
Pre-sale Preparation
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02
Process Preparation
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03
Engagement & Negotiations
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04
Due Diligence & Legal Documentation
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05
Completion
Sale Options
Our team at Corbett Keeling will work with you to establish which type of transaction best meets your objectives. These options typically include:
A trade buyer is a company operating in your sector or adjacently in terms of geography, product or market, in the UK or abroad. The trade buyer might be a direct competitor or a company at a different point on the value chain, such as a customer or supplier. Trade buyers typically aim to benefit from strategic and synergistic alignment and so will often pay the highest price.
Benefits to business owners include:
- Trade buyers often result in the highest price, often because of synergies that are achieved between buyer and seller
- Trade buyers typically buy 100% of the business giving you the chance to exit your business completely
- You may be offered a reduced but significant role in the company
- The market position of your business may be enhanced as part of a larger group with complimentary products and services
- Familiarity with the sector can enhance the chemistry between the buyer and your business
A financial buyer might be a private equity investor, an external debt provider such as bank or debt fund, a family office or even a high net worth individual. They will be looking to take a minority or majority stake in the business as part of a leveraged buy-out (LBO) transaction. The financial buyer will join the board of directors and typically look to sell their stake or exit the business within three to five years.
Benefits to business owners include:
- The ability to realise capital from your business whilst staying involved
- The opportunity to earn greater longer-term rewards as you retain a shareholding in a growing business
- A higher valuation price which can be achieved by gearing
- Minimal day to day interference; financial buyers are less likely to get involved with daily operations or disrupt staff
- Chemistry with the buyer is often easier as there are less people directly involved in the business
- There may be additional opportunities for growth backed by the buyer in the future
Selling to management involves the transfer of business ownership to a capable and ambitious senior management team via a management buy-out (MBO). The seller receives an initial payment with the remaining portion paid over the next three to five years. This type of sale can be funded by a private equity investor or an external debt provider such as a bank or debt fund; excess cash in the business is also often used to part fund a MBO.
Benefits to business owners include:
- MBOs are often the easiest and most straightforward type of sale to arrange
- Selling to management is the surest way to maintain confidentiality about the sale
- MBOs generally have the highest sale completion rate
- A higher valuation price can be achieved by gearing
- You can be confident that the management team has a deep understanding of the business
- MBOs typically result in a smoother transition for members of staff
An Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is an indirect type of employee ownership where shares are held by an independent trust on behalf of all employees. This method of sale is especially attractive to company owners who can’t or don’t want to arrange a trade sale, perhaps because the business relies on a key contract, member of personnel or unprotected intellectual property, all of which may reduce their value to trade and financial buyers.
Benefits to business owners include:
- Achieve a fair market value for your shares
- Preserve the legacy and ethos of your business
- Benefit from favourable tax exemptions
- Incentivise your management and staff with the structure
- Exit in a straightforward and quick transaction
- Remain involved with the business if you would like to
Larger companies may be suited to an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”), also known as “floating” or “going public”, which means giving over a percentage of the company for purchase by the public in the form of shares. The company is listed on an exchange such as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) or the London Stock Exchange, at which point shares can be bought and sold on public markets.
Benefits to business owners include:
- The opportunity for you and fellow shareholders to realise cash
- An injection of cash into the company to fund growth without resorting to debt and interest payments
- Ability to raise debt on more favourable terms from banks
- The opportunity to retain equity ownership and operational control while raising the company value
- Raise company profile and press coverage
- Improved ability to attract the best talent in the market with stock options and shares for which there is a market
Completed Transactions
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Native Holdings
Corbett Keeling is delighted to have advised the shareholders and investors of Native Holdings on the sale of its short-stay business division, Native Places, to the NUMA Group.
Our Role: Corbett Keeling was approached by Native Holdings’ investors to run a formal auction process. After managing a targeted market approach, we were close to finalising a sale when the selected bidder withdrew due to internal financing issues. We swiftly assessed the client’s options and relaunched a focused secondary process, successfully identifying the NUMA Group as a high-quality bidder. This enabled us to quickly reach a satisfactory agreement.
Once the transaction structure was decided and the heads of terms were agreed, Corbett Keeling managed the sell-side response to multiple detailed information requests from the NUMA Group and its advisors. We assisted Native Holdings' management team in providing the necessary information in a timely and organised manner.
We led negotiations on behalf of Native Holdings with senior board members of the NUMA Group and their financial and legal due diligence providers. Key negotiation items included the net cash and working capital adjustment, real estate permitting and regulatory matters, and service agreements for key staff members continuing in the business. After these areas were agreed upon, we coordinated the lawyers in the preparation, agreement, and signing of the legal documents.
About Native Places: Headquartered in London, Native Places is one of the UK’s pioneers in the lifestyle apart hotel and serviced apartment sector, with over 800 units. Native Places assets range from small to medium-scale serviced apartment buildings in London under the brand of The Apartment Collection to larger-scale Native Apart Hotels. Native Places provides guests with the freedom of a private apartment with the comfort and services of a boutique hotel in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
Native Holdings
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- Selling Your Business
- Year2024
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The Chelsea Magazine Company
Corbett Keeling is delighted to have advised Paul Dobson, the founder and owner of The Chelsea Magazine Company, on the sale of his business to the Telegraph Media Group.
Our role: The process began when Paul asked Corbett Keeling to advise on an approach he had received from an interested trade buyer. Corbett Keeling was engaged to provide preparatory advice on how best to approach these initial meetings and then to join these meetings with The Telegraph Media Group, acting as an experienced guide.
Once the structure of the transaction had been decided and the heads of terms were agreed, Corbett Keeling managed the sell-side response to a highly detailed information request from the Telegraph Media Group, assisting The Chelsea Magazine Company in providing the necessary information in a timely and organised manner.
We led negotiations on behalf of Paul and his family both with senior board members of the Telegraph Media Group and the Group’s financial due diligence providers on key items such as the net cash and working capital adjustment, the treatment of overseas operations and service agreements of key staff members continuing in the business. Once these areas had been agreed, we coordinated the lawyers in the preparation, agreement and signing of the legal documents.
About The Chelsea Magazine Company: Founded as a family business by Paul Dobson in 2007, The Chelsea Magazine Company is an award-winning print and online publisher of travel, lifestyle, education, and sports periodicals. The company enjoys a monthly readership in excess of 2.5 million across its 15 titles, spanning both the UK and North America.
The Chelsea Magazine Company
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- Selling Your Business
- Year2023
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Principle Cleaning Services
Corbett Keeling is delighted to have advised the shareholders of Principle Cleaning Services (Principle) on the sale of the majority of their shares to Principle’s 2,300 employees through the creation of an Employee Ownership Trust.
The company, which was founded by Douglas Cooke in 1989, has secured its long term future, enabling it to continue building its legacy, whilst creating an effective platform for growth and retaining its position as one of the industry’s leading independent businesses. All of its employees, whether full or part-time, are included in the transaction and will benefit from future profit sharing.
Commenting on the announcement, Douglas Cooke, executive chairman, said: “This is a fantastic transaction, which preserves the legacy of the company I founded over 30 years ago and places the future development of Principle in the hands of our 2,300 staff who are our most important asset. To have been able to include our people in the ownership of the business gives me immense pride and will, I am certain, ensure its stability and prosperity for many years to come.”
Our role: Douglas asked Corbett Keeling to run our Positioning, Readiness and Optimisation Review (“PRO Review”) workshop in order to assess the value of the business, identify any key areas for improvement and review the company’s readiness to complete a transaction.
As part of this preparation process, we modelled a variety of possible transaction structures for the shareholders, who decided they would like first and foremost to explore a sale to an Employee Ownership Trust (“EOT”). To ensure our client received the best possible advice at all stages of the sale process, we supported Douglas and his team in appointing experienced tax and legal advisers in Deloitte and DMH Stallard. Once any potential tax or legal-related obstacles had been identified and mitigated, the advisory team led by Corbett Keeling worked with the shareholders to finalise the structure of the transaction and prepare a comprehensive Heads of Terms.
In parallel, we shortlisted and interviewed a selection of offshore trustees to oversee the newly created EOT and worked with our client to choose the most appropriate candidate. Once the trustee had been appointed and the legal documents had been prepared, Corbett Keeling coordinated all parties through to signing and completion of the transaction.
About Principle Cleaning Services: Principle Cleaning Services is a market leader in providing corporate, commercial cleaning in London. Founded and established in 1989 by Douglas Cooke, the privately-owned company has an annual turnover in excess of £70m and employs 2,300 people. Supporting and delivering clean environments across London, its clients include well-known landmarks such as The Shard, 20 Fenchurch Street and 30 St Mary Axe.Principle Cleaning Services
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- Selling Your Business
- Year2023
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gasworld
Corbett Keeling is delighted to have advised John and Karen Raquet, founders and owners of gasworld on the sale of their business to its senior management team, led by Martyn Hammond and backed by private equity firm Mobeus Equity Partners. We ran a full process for John and Karen, exploring a wide range of buyers and helping them evaluate the relative merits of different types of purchasers. The completed transaction allows the shareholders to take a step back from the business, whilst the management team step into a larger role.
Our role:
We kicked off the sale process in 2020 with a Positioning and Readiness Optimisation Review (“PRO Review”) which gave gasworld’s owners, a comprehensive understanding of the value they could expect for the business at that time, identified measures which might be undertaken to increase that value and reviewed how ready they were for a sale process. On the back of the PRO Review, John and Karen asked Corbett Keeling to start a sale process the following year. In the first step, it was crucial to draft an information memorandum highlighting the many key strengths of the gasworld business model. At the same time we discussed and selected with John & Karen buyers we should approach on their behalf.
Interested parties were provided with all the relevant information they needed in order to put forward offers for the business. As to be expected in a sales process, the offers varied in structure, value and timing of payments. We advised John and Karen on the relative merits of each and together shortlisted preferred offers. The Corbett Keeling team then worked hard with the potential buyers to expand their offer letters into detailed heads of terms documents covering the key commercial aspects of the transaction, thus ensuring both the chosen buyer and the seller had a clear understanding of how the transaction would work and there could be little room for disagreement later in the process. Once the full terms of the transaction had been agreed, John and Karen selected Mobeus Private Equity as their preferred buyer and entered exclusivity with them; we then managed the due diligence and legal documentation process to reach a satisfactory completion for all involved.
About gasworld:
Headquartered in Cornwall, gasworld was founded in 2003 to provide more transparency in the technical world of industrial gases. gasworld is a leading provider of industry news, data and events to the industrial gases market and the fast-evolving hydrogen economy. In 2019, they developed “H2 View” following the growing importance of hydrogen in the low-carbon economy.gasworld
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- Selling Your Business
- Year2022
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See what our clients say about us
It’s not a process that we could have done on our own and certainly the final outcome we would never have achieved if we hadn’t had [Corbett Keeling] on board.
Karen RaquetFounder
I am delighted that our paths crossed which has resulted in concrete futures for all my family and the remaining companies in the Group. Your dedication in seeking out our requirements was resolute. I would have no hesitation in recommending the sincere professionalism of Corbett Keeling. Many thanks from the Nicol/Antczak Families.
Maurice NicolFounder
It was a pleasure dealing with Jim Keeling and his team throughout the process. We wanted to find the right partners and to do the right deal for us - Corbett Keeling delivered just that.
Chris LeachChairman and Founder