How prepared are you for the eventual sale of your business? Find out how to improve your business - download our FREE detailed pre-sales checklist.

Are you thinking of selling your business within the next five years? Before you even think about engaging the services of a business broker, it is important to get your business ready for market and to fully understand what your business is worth in its current state. And, more importantly, what it could be worth in an improved state.

For business sales we guide and help you to manage the process; we identify what needs to change within the business to increase its value and saleability; we help target potential buyers; and we assist or can represent owners during the negotiations.

We offer:
► Exit strategy formulation
► Succession planning
► Growth strategy
► Business systems analysis
► Business systems and process documentation
► KPI reporting
► Profit reporting
► Budgeting
► Inventory management

Plenty Systems Expertise

The staff in our business sales division have coordinated many national and international business sales, acquisitions and mergers—in transactions ranging from a few hundred thousand to a few hundred million dollars.  Putting commercial skills gained inside various enterprises, with M&A skills and corporate advisory experience, is at the core of our successful approach.

Plenty Systems has the experience and capabilities to make a real difference to your business. We can help you to prepare your company for sale by focusing on the key areas, or by working with you to address areas where you may not have had time to concentrate your efforts. We know what these areas are because we have done this before.

The directors and our executive staff have a great deal of experience in acquiring and disposing of companies in different markets, in different geographies and in different ways. Whether you need advice on preparing your company for sale, in cleaning up your accounts, in developing core processes and documentation, in finding ways of increasing your exposure or in increasing sales, we can help.

How we can help

We can look at your business from a buyer's perspective. We have expertise in the following areas:

► Selling and disposing of companies, with insights gained in having managed the acquisition of companies valued to several hundred million dollars

► Preparing companies for sale by focusing on what matters, not adhering to a prescribed formula

► Succinctly identifying areas to address and suggesting pragmatic solutions

► Determining the upgrades and changes that should be made to enhance value and saleability, and then working with you to upgrade your systems, reporting, management structure, sales, people skills and general management

► Where deal issues would likely occur

► Where specialist help might be required

► Help target likely buyers/buyer groups/markets

► Generate focused marketing and selling activities—whether online, using traditional methods or directly with prospective purchasers

► Write sales particulars and information memorandums

► Make approaches to buyers

► Assist in negotiations

Why use this service?

Contacting a business broker to mass-market a business may be a way of promoting a business, but only after other steps have been undertaken first.  Engaging a broker should be one of the last steps in selling a business.  Well ahead of this, four questions should be answered:

► What is the value of your business now? For example, what does your financial performance say about the value of your business and how does your business stack up against others in your industry?

► What should your business look like to get the price you desire? What sales, profit margins and growth rates are required to justify the price you want for your business?

► How will my business look to a purchaser? Will a purchaser be able to obtain finance based on my business?

► And most significantly – what key factors will help your business achieve this?

Packages

Business sales workshop

This is a half-day workshop presented by Mr. Neil Stephens and our team of business analysts who will impart the knowledge and strategies needed to successfully sell your business. This workshop is available from $495 (excl. GST).  Should you subsequently decide to purchase the pre-sale review package (below), this amount will be credited to your account.

Pre-sale review

This entails our team of business analysts working with you over the coming months, undertaking a pre-sale review of your business, including a market appraisal and recommendations on:
► business saleability evaluation
► differentiation
► systems maturity
► market analysis
► alliances
► potential buyers for your business
► the optimal presentation and negotiation techniques and tactics

The entire scope of the pre-sale review is described here. The cost is dependent upon the size of your company and the complexity of its operations. Contact us today on (07) 3394 8247 or make an enquiry through our website.

Testimonial

“Plenty Systems gave advice and direction on the areas that really mattered in terms of selling my business.

By promoting key areas, focusing on who was most likely to buy my company and why, and then helping me while we approached them and during the negotiations, Neil’s role was key and far removed from the advice I received from a business broker.”

- Carl Dew, Director, Hebel Innovations

A Buyer’s Market

Several recent business surveys indicate that more than 40% of business owners expect to sell their business within the next decade.

This is of particular significance to SME owners who wish to use the proceeds from the sale of their business to fund retirement.

Unfortunately, many of these owners will offer their company to the market without having optimised its value and saleability well in advance and, due to the number of business that will be for sale, they will have missed the opportunity to increase the value of the business and its final sales price.

Business saleability

Careful planning is needed to optimise both the sales price and the saleability—i.e., the ease with which the business will sell. There are several factors that influence the selling price for your business:

► Price vs. value

Since the value of a business is based on the future cash flows that the buyer can achieve (or more simplistically a view of maintainable earnings), it is important that accurate financial results and projections are shown, that the financial reports are restructured to the intended audience (i.e., the prospective buyers), and that expansion constraints are clearly understood

► Business size

The sales price of a larger business is disproportionately higher than of a smaller business within the same market due to the elastic nature of the EBITDA earnings multiple. An important analysis is to determine whether growth can feasibly be achieved either organically or strategic (i.e., from a business acquisition) within the available timeframe.

► Differentiation

There are many competing businesses for sale, and differentiating your business is key—particularly the competitive advantage that your business enjoys over its competitors.

► Systems maturity

Are your business systems documented, effective and well implemented? Is the business non-reliant upon key staff, including the business owner? Is risk managed and mitigated? Is the business well managed—for example, are both financial and non-financial company performance measured?

► Market opportunity

Where is the market headed, and why would the business be considered well placed? What is the quality of the revenues?

► Alliances

This relates to the quality of the strategic alliances enjoyed by your business, such as within its supply chain or sales process.

► Competition

There should, ideally, be two or more competitive bidders for your business.

► Presentation and negotiation