Leith Mergers & Acquisitions Limited

https://lnkd.in/dYzqWgV7

You know your business. But would a buyer see it the same way? A future sale is not just about performance. It is also about clarity, transferability, risk, and buyer confidence. This short assessment helps you uncover: • how ready your business may be for exit • what could undermine value • where there may be hidden gaps or unknowns It only takes a few minutes. Start the assessment

Very pleased with the new Leith Mergers & Acquisitions Limited website!! www.leithma.co.uk This started as a project after we honed the details and associated docs for our Leith Value Accelerator programme, our new offering that assesses a business the way a buyer would. The outcome for owners is they’ll become sale ready, worth more, and have built the basis of the data room they’ll need in the event of a transaction. But of course the shiny new decks to share all that didn’t quite match the old website…so I entered the dangerous rabbit hole of suggesting a complete website overhaul to David Nelson 🙈 I ‘promised’ it wouldn’t take ages, and we’d be done in just a few weeks. So delighted that it’s complete inside two weeks 🙌 And more importantly there’s a proper online home for the programme, check it out below. https://lnkd.in/eRamtruH If you’re considering an exit, or advise people who might be thinking about it, this could be a very good place to start! James Wakefield Lisa Vincent Liz Armstrong

Could your business survive without you? Most founders tell me yes, and they usually mean it. But there's a better test which is what happens when something goes wrong. Does your management team make the decision and sort the problem out or does somebody immediately pick up the phone and call you? That's the moment founder dependency really shows itself. A buyer wants to know that the team left behind can make decisions, look after customers and run the business without you. If every important decision still comes through the owner, the business isn't as independent as it might look from the outside. So, if you disappeared tomorrow, which decisions would still need to come through you?

How can two businesses operating in the same sector with identical turnover and profit have completely different valuations? The answer is the difference in the quality of earnings, because a buyer isn't simply buying a number on a P&L. They want to know how much of your revenue is contracted, how much is repeatable, how concentrated the customer base is, who actually owns those customer relationships and whether the margins are sustainable. Then there's the second big question, which is how transferable the business is. Could somebody acquire it and keep running it without the founder? The headline numbers clearly matter, but what sits underneath them can completely change how a buyer values the company. How much of your company's value would remain if you or two or three key customers stepped away?

Could your business survive without you? Most founders tell me yes, and they usually mean it. But there's a better test which is what happens when something goes wrong. Does your management team make the decision and sort the problem out or does somebody immediately pick up the phone and call you? That's the moment founder dependency really shows itself. A buyer wants to know that the team left behind can make decisions, look after customers and run the business without you. If every important decision still comes through the owner, the business isn't as independent as it might look from the outside. So, if you disappeared tomorrow, which decisions would still need to come through you?