FIRST-TIME BUSINESS BUYERS
ARE YOU ACTUALLY READY TO BUY A BUSINESS?
Before chasing opportunities, a first-time buyer should understand what they can realistically afford, available capital, credit and funding position, relevant commercial experience, sector knowledge, type and size of business, acquisition criteria, personal risk, likely deal structure and professional support required. We help serious first-time buyers become acquisition ready and move from learning to doing.
Confidential initial conversation. No obligation.
You know business. We know acquisitions.
YOU'VE DONE THE LEARNING. NOW COMES THE TRANSACTION.
The problem is often not ambition. It is knowing what to do next.
Many aspiring buyers spend months or years looking at businesses, sending letters, contacting brokers, watching acquisition videos, speaking to advisers and trying to understand funding, but never complete an acquisition.
The problem is often not ambition. It is knowing what to do next.
FIRST ESTABLISH WHAT YOU CAN REALISTICALLY BUY
Start with the practical acquisition boundaries.
BECOME ACQUISITION READY
Move from preparation into acquisition with a clearer path.
Before we start looking for businesses, we want to understand what you can realistically buy and how you could complete the acquisition. This should prevent buyers wasting months approaching businesses they cannot realistically acquire.
We would rather establish this before approaching dozens of sellers. It makes you a more credible buyer and gives sellers, brokers, lenders and professional advisers greater confidence that you are capable of completing.
THIS IS NOT "BUY A BUSINESS WITH NO MONEY"
We do not promote acquisition fantasies.
Buying businesses normally requires capital, financial credibility, commercial judgement and the ability to execute.
What can sometimes be changed is how the transaction is structured and financed. Those are very different things.
THE CHEAPEST-LOOKING ACQUISITION CAN BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE
A business was acquired for £1. It cost considerably more.
An online print-on-demand business was acquired for £1 because continuity of the Amazon operation was critical. Approximately £150,000 of additional group cash was subsequently invested before the company entered administration.
A £1 purchase price does not make something a cheap acquisition. The real question is how much capital, time and risk you inherit after completion.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE READY?
Once we understand what you can realistically buy, the process moves from preparation into acquisition.
Stage 01
Get ready
Before we start looking for businesses, we want to understand what you can realistically buy and how you could complete the acquisition.
Stage 02
Find
We identify suitable acquisition opportunities, including businesses that are not publicly advertised for sale.
Stage 03
Assess
We look beneath the headline numbers. Revenue, EBITDA, profitability, cash generation, owner dependency and the commercial reality of the business.
Stage 04
Value
What is the business actually worth? Not what the seller hopes it is worth.
Stage 05
Finance
We help you understand the funding options and work with lenders where appropriate.
Stage 06
Negotiate
We help negotiate price, structure and commercial terms with the seller.
Stage 07
Complete
We work alongside your accountants, lawyers and finance providers through due diligence and completion.