What is it really like to sell a company? Over the next few months we are going to be covering the sale process from the point of view of a mythical – but hopefully typical – owner-manager! We will be covering a period from the initial...
Continue readingAn article by Peter Watson, Prism Corporate Broking For the majority of businesses it is the power of the customer relationships that provides most of the value. Whilst Facebook recently announced that they are to acquire social networking company Instagram – a business which is less than...
Continue readingAn article by Peter Watson, Prism Corporate Broking As a Private Equity investor stated recently to us in a meeting, we know what makes a good business. From the outside it is often fairly obvious when you come across a “good business” but what are some...
Continue readingJust returned from 10 days very well earned holiday in Barbados to a letter from one of our national competitors indicating some interest in our business. To be honest I haven’t yet given much thought to exiting the business but spending more time in the...
Continue readingAn article by Peter Watson, Prism Corporate Broking The value that an acquirer is prepared to pay is governed principally by two factors – the growth opportunity and the risk. Looking at the second element, this primarily concerns the risk that future earnings could fall off. Where...
Continue readingAn article by Peter Watson, Prism Corporate Broking Once you have embarked on the sale process, things can start to move pretty quickly and the requirements on your time will get quite intense – especially once an offer has been accepted and you enter the DD...
Continue readingAn article by Peter Watson, Prism Corporate Broking The actions necessary for getting a business ready for sale depend upon the business in question, but getting an external perspective is crucial to identifying the areas of value, and also of risk to potential acquirers. The following will...
Continue readingAn article by Peter Watson, Prism Corporate Broking Privately owned businesses often share one important characteristic – a dependence on the owner manager. For any acquirer this is a key element that needs to be understood and accommodated, and may well result in either a lower valuation,...
Continue readingI did go along to that “Maximising Value” seminar. Very informative, I must say. I reckon we’re not too badly placed as a business – we certainly have strong customer relationships and run a tidy ship. I do need to improve and formalise the management...
Continue readingThe Prism ‘Maximise the Value of your Technology Business’ morning seminar, held on 15th September in London was a great success. With a busy venue full of owner/managers of technology businesses, we had the opportunity to meet highly successful business people with clear intentions and objectives...
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