Sunday 16 September 2012

Why Both Buyers and Sellers Need Confidential Business Brokers

When it comes to either selling or buying a business, retaining business brokers to do the work for you can make all the difference. Axis Partnership are professional business brokers with an enviable track record, working on behalf of both buyers and sellers to achieve successful business sales. The total confidentiality that using business brokers offers is one of the main reasons that many buyers and sellers choose to work with Axis.


Confidential Business Brokers for Sellers


Actively selling your own business while keeping it quiet is a very hard task to achieve. And when it comes to selling your company, there are many reasons to keep your decision under wraps until negotiations are finalised, allowing you to achieve a successful sale without any unnecessary damage to your business.  We consider confidentiality to be paramount for all the companies for sale on our books.


First and foremost, keeping the news of a potential sale private from staff will enable them to carry on with their work and maintain levels of motivation and productivity without the worry that their jobs may be affected. And if your customers become aware of an impending sale, their confidence in your service may be undermined, perhaps encouraging them to try out the competition.

Likewise, you may wish to keep a potential sale quiet when it comes to your suppliers - making sure that there is no change in the levels of service you receive from them. And certainly when it comes to your competitors, confidentiality is a must, ensuring that they do not start to interfere with your client base, potentially harming the value of your business.

Using business brokers will also allow you to vet interested buyers before revealing your identity to them, meaning that you only need enter into discussions with well researched, qualified prospects, saving you both time and effort.

And when it comes to the marketing materials for selling your business, business brokers can also help to ensure confidentiality, by using carefully worded descriptions which make it difficult to pinpoint the exact business for sale. In addition, we can ensure we only market your business to buyers outside your area, helping to ensure that staff, suppliers and local competitors are unlikely to see your business advertised.


Confidential Business Brokers for Buyers

When searching for companies for sale, the confidentiality offered by business brokers such as Axis can also greatly benefit potential buyers of businesses.

As your business brokers we can make detailed enquiries about a business for you, negating the need for you to speak with the seller directly until you are sure that it is a business worth pursuing.

At Axis we offer two levels of service. You can simply register your details with us, letting us know the type of business or investment that you are interested in. We will then keep you informed of any new businesses for sale that come onto our books and that match your requirements. We can then approach businesses confidentially on your behalf to make further enquiries or initiate negotiations.

Or, with our retained buyer service, you can allow our team to do all of the hard work for you, knowing that your confidentiality is completely maintained. Our team have the skills and ability to take a profile of your needs, to research and approach businesses that are not currently for sale and ascertain their interest in selling without the need to reveal your identity until you are ready to start formal negotiations.

Strictly Confidential Business Brokers - Axis Partnership


At Axis we have been assisting companies for sale in achieving smooth and successful transfers for over 14 years.  In fact, maintaining confidentiality on behalf of our clients is as important to us as it is to them. And confidentiality also aides the sales process as, in the majority of cases, it results in a much smoother transaction for all involved.


Our teams have several strategies in place for maintaining our high standards of confidentiality from the initial meeting onwards. When arranging any appointment with you we ask you to choose the location and, should you prefer to meet at your business premises, we will arrange the meeting to appear that we are there for other reasons, such as discussing insurance cover, or similar. We also ask all potential buyers to sign legally binding non-disclosure agreements before revealing the identity of the business that we are selling, again ensuring that only serious and well qualified prospective buyers are made aware of your identity. And we will always work with you to ensure that we do not contact any prospects who you think may be inappropriate.

Buying or selling your business with business brokers has many other benefits. As specialists in our field, we have the contacts in every sector, as well as the expertise and time to find the perfect pairing, negotiating the optimum deal for you.

To find out more about the confidential business brokers service from the Axis Partnership, call us today on 0800 977 5855.

Friday 14 September 2012

Closing Down or Placing Companies for Sale? Your Company Could be More Interesting to Buyers Than You Think

In the present economic climate, seeing companies for sale comes as no surprise to many of us. And recent research published in borro’s Enterprise Ladder report states that over the past five years, nearly half (47%) of Britain’s small to medium sized enterprise (SME) owners said that they have considered putting their companies up for sale, or simply shutting them down completely.

What’s more, 21% of SME owners stated that they are "very likely to exit" their business within the next five years, while 26% said that they are "quite likely to exit".

Companies for Sale - click here for more information on how we can help you buy or sell a business.

Putting The Positive Into Placing Companies For Sale
But placing companies for sale need not be seen as a negative action.  While it can be hard for a business owner to see their company as a potential investor or buyer would, using a broker, such as Axis Partnership, can help you to assess your company’s strengths more objectively - and to find a buyer who fits the bill perfectly.

The current economy also means that some companies are struggling even though they have high demand for their products or services, their order books are full and they have the right people in place to fulfil them. Quite simply, getting the finance to fulfil the orders and grow the business is a sticking point and can lead to some SMEs considering closure.

These businesses are just the type of investment that buyers with the right financial power and creativity are interested in. And placing companies for sale, rather than closing them down, means that jobs can be saved and the effort that the founder has put in to get to the status quo has not been in vain.

Furthermore, putting companies up for sale need not mean that the business owner has to walk away with no future interest in the company that they have worked hard to establish.  With the right investor, the original owner may leave the company with a reasonably sized financial package, or may be able to stay on as a manager or a stakeholder in some form, but with the backing of an owner who has the finances to make the business vision a reality.


Some Signs You Should Join the Ranks of Companies for Sale Instead of Closing Down

Before closing down or placing companies for sale, we would recommend closely analysing and assessing your business, and if you can answer yes to one or more of the questions below, you could have a saleable business.

Full order books and eager customers - Is there a real demand for your product or service, but you can’t raise a loan for the raw materials, the equipment, labour and the like necessary to fulfil the orders?

Finance for change or growth - Can you see the potential for growth within your business or do you have plans for turning the company around, but just can’t finance them yourself?

Portfolio piece - Is your company within an industry where other companies are doing well?  Would it make an attractive addition to someone else’s portfolio?

One of a kind - Is your product, service or skill unique?

Valuable assets - Do you own your premises, the business equipment, your customer database or some form of intellectual property?

Brand awareness and reputation - Is your company well known and do your customers, stakeholders and prospects have a positive opinion of your business?


Axis Partnership - Finding Suitable Buyers For Companies For Sale

When it comes to working out whether your company should be placed for sale, it can be a tricky business. At Axis our experienced, dedicated and professional broker team have helped companies for sale from all sectors, as well as potential buyers, matching them to their perfect partner.

When you come to us, we can provide you with a no obligation valuation of your business. And if you would like to proceed with selling your company, we can help you to find a suitable buyer and help you through every step of your sale.

During this process we will work with you to create a sales memorandum, identifying the features and benefits of your business - the document from which we can go on to identify potential purchasers.

At all stages of the process we will ensure confidentiality, and this is also true when approaching prospective purchasers for you.  From here, once we have found a suitable purchaser, our in house advisors can help to steer you through the negotiation and agreement, should you wish, helping you to structure your exit, or otherwise from the business - whether you would prefer to stay on and run the business, or would prefer to leave altogether.

Finally we will help you through the process of due diligence to the completion of the final sale document - the contract.

If you would like to know more about how Axis can assist companies for sale, or for a no obligation valuation, call us on 0800 977 5855.

Thursday 13 September 2012

The Art of Matching Buyers to Businesses for Sale

When matching buyers with businesses for sale, getting the perfect pairing is imperative. Buying a business is a big commitment - most business owners hold on to their investment for a good many years, not placing their businesses for sale readily. So ensuring that their investment is successful is crucial. At Axis we take time to understand our buyers’ requirements and we actively seek out businesses for sale to match with them.

Businesses for Sale - click here for more information on how we can help you buy or sell a business.

Matching Your Needs to Businesses for Sale
When finding businesses for sale for our clients, our highly experienced team will take a number of factors and features into consideration to build a profile with which to fit the buyer with the business:


Your budget - when looking into your budget, not only will we look at the cost of the acquisition itself, we will look at the longer term and advise you of any investment the business may need after the purchase.



Your preferred location - the location of your investment is particularly important, especially if you would like to have a hands on approach to the business, or if you are adding to an existing portfolio or chain.


Your chosen sector - while some of our clients know exactly which sector they wish to purchase within, others simply know the type of investment they wish to make. With experience in matching buyers to businesses for sale in most every sector within the marketplace, we will work with you to identify your chosen sector and drill down within that to find the perfect business match.

Your past experience - another important consideration in matching a buyer to a business is your experience in the particular market. We will compare what businesses you have owned before, what your role has been within them (manager, financial, technical, and whether you were hands on or not), with the engagement that the new business will require.

Your vision for the business - we will investigate whether you would like a business that is already successful and which needs no or little change to continue to do well, or if you would prefer a transformation project such as a company requiring investment or a change of strategy.

How you measure success - we will also look at what you would like to achieve from your purchase, be it a financial return on investment, presence in a given market or area, a project in which you can be directly involved, the acquisition of specific skills, or adding to or complementing an existing portfolio.

Your attitude to risk - we will examine whether you prefer an ‘entrepreneurial’ high risk, potentially high return, strategy, perhaps in a new technology start up or similar. Alternatively you may prefer a low risk strategy with a steady return on investment, such as a family run firm already doing steady trade. Whichever your outlook, we will find the investment to suit.

The Axis Partnership - Pairing Your Needs With The Perfect Businesses For Sale
When it comes to finding the perfect business acquisition, there are two ways for Axis to help:

The first is simply to register your details with Axis, letting us know the type of business or investment that you are interested in. We will then keep you informed of any new businesses for sale that come onto our books and that match your requirements.

Should you wish for a more proactive approach, with our retained buyer service, as well as investigating the businesses for sale already on our books, we will actively research businesses that are not currently for sale, and we will make approaches to the business owners on your behalf. In this way we can make the ultimate match for you, taking all of the above factors into consideration for you, to come up with a list of companies to be targeted.

In this way, we take the strain out of your search for a suitable investment, using our experience across all sectors and markets to do the hard work for you. And you can rest assured that your confidentiality is maintained, right through the negotiation process, until both parties are prepared to agree a firm offer. At this point we will arrange meetings to discuss finer details and act as mediator, seeing the sale through all of the legalities to completion.


About Axis Partnership


At Axis we provide specialist services in buying and selling businesses on behalf of clients from a wide range of backgrounds. Our clients work with us in complete confidence, knowing that transactions will be handled professionally and with integrity, as well as with excellent results.

Businesses for Sale - click here for more information on how we can help you buy or sell a business.