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Keep up to date with all aspects of the world of business sales. Relaunched for 2018, iDeal is an interactive online magazine, packed with news, features and market insights, plus client interviews and features on key topics for business owners. In this issue:

• Who’s on the move? The latest deals and rumours in M&A
• “Selling a business is an intense experience” – first-hand advice from a successful seller
• How to read your market
• GDPR – what the new regulations mean for you

* PDF download

Once a business sale price has been agreed, a buyer and seller will need to enter into a Sale And Purchase Agreement (SPA). As a seller, it’s vital you are aware what the SPA contains – and what commercial issues and challenges typically arise between buyers and sellers when selling a business. Authored by several of our senior advisors, this paper focuses on key commercial considerations, from assessing the headline price, to deal structures and earnout provisions, explaining all the key terminology in easy-to-understand, jargon-free English. Essential reading for ‘the business end’ of any M&A transaction!

The healthcare and pharmaceutical sector has been one of the most thriving and dynamic areas of activity from an M&A perspective in the past two years. With an estimated $67bn of biosimilar patents expiring before 2020, biotech companies have been attracting a huge amount of interest from big pharma. The emergence of medical technology is being seen as a strong investment opportunity by private equity, but also by trade buyers who are keen to expand into this sector – but lack the internal expertise to fully develop it.

For most business owners considering an exit, often the first question that comes up is ‘when is the right time to sell’. Time has become our scarcest commodity – and it’s all too easy to put-off planning a potential sale for another day. But remember: selling a company takes considerable time, resource and preparation. Regardless of whether you want to sell this year, next year, or in 10 years, it’s vital you understand how to prepare your business effectively.

From managing internal issues, to streamlining your business or taking advantage of wider market conditions, timing is crucial to achieve the best sale outcome. The good news is there’s a lot you can do in advance to make the process easier.

BCMS has joined with the corporate law team at Penningtons Manches to bring you our pocket guide, When is the right time to sell? Full of expert advice and case studies from business owners who have successfully sold their businesses, it will help you to understand how best to prepare for a business sale, the factors that commonly delay deal making, and how to achieve a successful sale within your preferred timeline.

This handy 60-page guide covers all aspects of the BCMS sale process, from the reasons owners and shareholders decide to sell their businesses, through to the identification of and contact with potential acquirers and the final stages of qualification, negotiation and sale completion.

Written by BCMS founding Director Dave Rebbettes, Selling Your Business is packed with invaluable insights into the sale process, drawn from Dave’s 25+ years’ experience of deal-making. Each page offers insider tips, proven techniques, case studies and statistics to help you plan your next steps. 

A perfect companion to the acclaimed BCMS masterclass, this free book is essential reading for all business owners and the first steps to transforming your future and that of your business and staff.

Personal journeys through the single most important transaction you will ever undertake... 

Written by David Oliver, BCMS masterclass presenter and author of The Sunday Times publication How To Negotiate Effectively, I Sold Up is an inspiring collection of real-life stories from 11 entrepreneurs. This book seeks to explore their very different reasons for selling their business, and how they took the often difficult decision to sell a company they had built up from nothing.  

Subtitled ‘What It is Really Like To Sell A Business?’ I Sold Up is proof that a business sale is an emotional, as well as financial, experience. 

In their own words, you’ll understand the challenges sellers faced, and learn from their different experiences.

“I couldn’t put the book down, and I couldn’t put the pack down…” Gavin Goates, PCML

This publication, written in conjunction with lawyers Coffin Mew LLP and Coutts & Co bank, is intended to help you understand your choices, and provide professional insight into the challenges involved. Uniquely, you’ll also find first-hand advice from real people who have ‘been there and done that’… former BCMS clients who have grown and sold businesses.