A range of services to assist business owners

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Valuations are a critical tool in running a successful business.  Whether it is for selling or buying a business, succession planning, resolving a dispute or dealing with the ATO, having a clear, on-going understanding of value is critical.

Various valuation methodologies exist which can be confusing and generate widely different outcomes, which can lead to incorrect decisions being made..

We adopt fit for purpose valuation techniques and use the valuation outcomes as a key discussion piece when assessing the business owner's future plans and the steps required to achieve these goals.

As part of our vendor assistance services, we look to perform a valuation every 12 months to demonstrate how changes to the business are increasing value.

Private equity investors always consider what their exit will look like when undertaking any transaction.  As a business owner, you should be considering your exit as early as possible and on an on-going basis but most do not.

Whilst we have assisted owners sell their businesses quickly; to maximise the potential sale proceeds we work with business owners to assess their sale readiness, identify key value drivers and set out a structured plan to improve the sale readiness of their business.

This can involve a 1 to 3 year commitment by the owner but as the business is improving its exit readiness, it will be introducing improved business processes and systems which should improve profitability prior to sale.

Undertaking an acquisition can significantly increase the size and profitability of your business.  This can dramatically increase your own exit value but you must do proper due diligence before any acquisition to avoid the risk of destroying value and/or overpaying for the business being acquired.

We have over 30 years of due diligence experience and know how to identify issues in the target business as well as identifying opportunities for future growth/synergies.

We also assist with the negotiation process and reviewing legal agreements associated with the sale to ensure any risks identified during due diligence are mitigated and any post completion service agreements and/or price adjustments are equitable to both sides of the transaction.

Based on the exit readiness review, a series of steps are likely to be required to get your business ready for a sale, improve corporate value and also ensure you remain "exit ready".

We look at a number of areas under the following five key headings, but all are focused on either improving profitability and/or reducing risk.  The areas are:

• Financial
• Strategy
• Management and employees
• Operational improvements
• Legal and governance

We clearly link these areas to value drivers to ensure early wins are achieved and value improvements secured throughout the process, so that the business owners benefit immediately.

Many of these changes are driven by the business owner, whilst we ensure the planned actions remain on schedule and act as a sounding board for the owner during the transformation of their business.

Most business owners will only sell one business in their career and this sale is likely to be the main source of funds to finance their retirement.  

As such, they must ensure they get it right!

We have worked on both the buy and sell sides of many transactions.  We know what an investor wants to see when assessing a business for sale and we also know how to present that information in the best way to maximise the proceeds from the transaction.  

It is our significant transaction experience which differentiates us from most accounting firms and ensures our clients are guided expertly through the transaction process effortlessly whilst the business owners continue to run their business.

Above all else, we are passionate about ensuring the business owner achieves their objectives both financially and for the on-going future of the business after they exit the business.  To reflect this commitment, we structure our fees so that the majority are only earned on a successful divestment.

An advisory board is a select group of “independent” people who provide advice and support to the owners/directors of a business, assisting them making informed decisions to guide the future direction of the business and to maximise its value.

An advisory board can be a single party or a collective of advisors drawn from numerous fields. They provide non-binding strategic advice to organisations and hence are less structured and managed when compared to a board of directors.

Over his 30 year career, Martin Leech has acted in both a full board director role and advisor to numerous boards/company owners on strategic decisions and assisted them with financial and commercial reviews of existing and future operations.  He is often approached to caste his experienced eye over strategic initiatives and proposals.

This experience helps business owners look at situations from a different perspective and we relish the challenge of introducing new thought processes / concepts to our clients.