Prepare for a transaction
Get the business, the information and the story in order before a process begins
The work done in the year or two before a transaction often has more influence on the outcome than anything that happens during it. At Motion Advisory Partners we help owners prepare so that, when the time comes, choices are made on their terms.
- Who this is for
- Owners who expect a sale, investment or other transaction in the future and want to use the time well.
- What it is not
- A fixed-length programme or a promise of a particular valuation. Preparation improves the odds and the options; it does not guarantee an outcome, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Why prepare
Buyers pay for certainty as much as for performance
Two businesses with similar numbers can be valued very differently. The difference is usually how much confidence a buyer has in those numbers, in the people, and in what happens after the founder's role changes.
Preparation is about reducing the questions a buyer has to ask, and making sure the answers to the ones they do ask are good. It also gives founders a clearer view of their own business, which tends to improve decisions whether or not a transaction follows.
The areas we work through
A sensible sequence, not a rigid checklist. Most businesses are strong in some areas and need attention in others.
Founder objectives
What you want from a transaction and from the years after it. Timing, role, value and the people in the business. These answers shape everything else.
Business positioning
What the business does distinctively, who it does it for and why clients choose it. A clear specialism is easier to value than a general offer.
Financial information
Consistent, timely management accounts, a clear view of normalised EBITDA, and the ability to reconcile what you say to what the accounts show.
Revenue quality
Retained versus project revenue, visibility of future income, pricing discipline and the stability of margins over time.
Client concentration
How much of the revenue depends on the largest clients, how those relationships are contracted and how they would respond to a change of ownership. See client concentration.
Leadership
The depth of the team beneath the founders, who holds the client relationships and how decisions are made when the founders are not in the room.
Dependence on individual people
Founder dependence is the most common concern buyers raise. Reducing it takes time, which is why preparation starts early.
Commercial foundations
Contracts, intellectual property, employment terms, supplier arrangements and the housekeeping that due diligence will examine.
The choices a founder may need to make
Whether to sell, when, to whom, and what to change first. Preparation surfaces these decisions early enough to make them deliberately.
How it helps
Preparing information and considering options supports a future process in three ways
- Speed
Buyers move faster when information is ready and consistent. Delays in a process cost momentum, and momentum affects price.
- Confidence
Issues found by the seller and explained are manageable. Issues found by the buyer in due diligence become negotiating points.
- Options
A business that understands its own value and the buyers who might want it can choose between routes instead of taking the first one that appears.
Related resources
Want to use the next year or two well?
A conversation about where the business stands and what would make the biggest difference.