Last updated: June 2026
Key takeaways
- Sell from strength: the best time is when the company is performing and growth is visible, not when you are forced to.
- Most value is won or lost in preparation, with clean financials, a defensible data room, and a clear equity story before launch.
- Competition moves the price: a managed process across several qualified buyers beats a single conversation on both price and terms.
- The headline number is not the deal. Structure, earnouts, and protections decide how much you actually collect, and when.
Is it the right time to sell?
The best time to sell is when the business is performing, growth is visible, and you are not forced to. Buyers pay a premium for momentum and a discount for distress. If revenue is climbing, margins are healthy, and the company is less dependent on you each year, you are negotiating from strength.
Personal timing matters too. Succession questions, partner alignment, and your own energy for the next chapter all feed the decision. A sale runs for the better part of a year and tests your resolve, so the time to start is before you are exhausted, not after.
What is your company worth?
Mid-market companies are usually valued on a multiple of EBITDA, adjusted for the quality of those earnings. Recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependence, and a credible growth story all move the multiple up or down. The honest number is what a real buyer will pay in a competitive process, not a flattering figure designed to win your signature.
Our full guide to what your business is worth breaks down the drivers, and our business valuation work gives you an evidence-based read before you go to market.
Preparing the company for sale
Most value is won or lost before a buyer ever sees the business. Preparation means clean, defensible financials, a data room that survives scrutiny, and an equity story that explains not just what the company is, but what it could be for the right owner.
- Separate personal and business affairs in the accounts.
- Document the recurring revenue and the contracts behind it.
- Reduce dependence on any single customer, supplier, or person.
- Build the information memorandum and the data room before launch.
When a company is not ready, the right answer is sometimes to wait and build. That is what exit readiness and value creation are for.
Finding the right buyers
The right buyer is rarely the only buyer who calls. Strategic acquirers, private equity platforms, and well-capitalised individuals all value a company differently, and the highest bid is not always the best home for your team and your name. A proper process approaches a curated set of qualified buyers, under non-disclosure, and lets them compete.
Running a competitive process
Competition is what moves the number. A managed process runs to a timeline: outreach, management meetings, indicative offers, then letters of intent. Several interested parties create the tension that produces a fair price and protective terms. One conversation, by contrast, hands the leverage to the buyer.
This is the heart of sell-side advisory, and the reason most founders who sell directly leave value on the table.
Negotiating price, structure, and terms
The headline price is only part of the deal. Structure decides how much you actually collect, and when. Cash at close, deferred consideration, equity rollover, and earnouts each carry different risk. Protections like representations, warranties, and escrow shape what happens if something surfaces later.
Earnouts in particular are where sellers get hurt. Structure them on metrics you control, with realistic targets. See our guide to how earnouts actually pay.
Diligence and closing
Once a buyer is chosen and a letter of intent is signed, due diligence opens. This is where an unprepared sale loses value: surprises become discounts, and momentum stalls. A business prepared properly holds its price through diligence to a clean close. From signing to completion typically runs four to twelve weeks.
Do you need an advisor?
You can sell a company yourself. Most founders who do it once leave price and protection behind, because they negotiate against full-time acquirers while still running the business. An advisor runs the process, defends the valuation in diligence, and creates competition, while you keep the company performing, which is what protects the value right up to close.