What is the best place to sell a business?

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There are many options when considering the best place / organisation/ channel to sell a business. Corporate Finance functions either in standalone firms or part of large accountancy firms play an important role in large complex deals, but do not do all the end-to-end process. These functions are often less important for small private company sales.

Sales agents / brokers are another place to go to sell a business. These often focus only on finding a Buyer via large scale direct marketing campaigns only. They do not always undertake commercially astute preparation for sale. They have not actually bought and sold their own companies and do not provide the financial and legal support required.

The simplest option is to subscribe to a website offering to list your business. This is more of a lucky dip gamble. If an interested party is found via this approach there is still the need for a Seller to find advisers to negotiate, manage due diligence, provide financial and taxation. Then legal advisers are required to establish non-disclosure agreements, Heads of Terms and a Sale and Purchase Agreement. This low-cost website listing option soon runs up significant costs from a number of other advisers and still no one person is controlling the overall process.

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What is the best place to sell a business?