SELLING YOUR BUSINESS
Looking to sell your Pub, sell your Hotel, sell your Restaurant, Sell your Bar, Sell your Inn, Sell your Licensed Property, Sell your Business?
Looking to sell your Coffee Shop, Restaurant, Tea-Room, Café, B&B, Hotel, Food Outlet, Shop, Pub, Office, Take-away outlet, Office, other Business?
Guy Simmonds has been selling businesses for more than 35 years. We provide a comprehensive and highly professional sales service designed to secure and complete a sale of your business in a timely fashion delivering full market value to you, our client. We proactively guide you step-by-step through the entire process. In brief we offer:
- A comprehensive sales service for businesses, leasehold or freehold. Our specialism is licensed businesses such as pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs and hotels, and we have increasing demand for other businesses such as cafes, coffee shops, B&Bs, newsagents, convenience stores, take-away outlets, filling stations, garden centres, offices, etc
- National coverage of all areas of England and Wales
- Confidential, free, no-obligation valuation visit by one of our experienced specialist business valuers who will provide a realistic valuation and explain your sales options/exit strategy and provide full details of the services we offer
- Specialist knowledge and advice relevant to your business sector and local trading environment with examples of recent comparable successful sales completed by Guy Simmonds
Upon taking your sale instruction:
- We provide you with our Unique Seller's Pack © giving comprehensive advice and tips on how we work in partnership with you to endeavour to achieve our mutual aim of selling your business
- Production of high-quality sales particulars giving comprehensive details of your property and business, including relevant photo presentation
- Inclusion of your business on our own website linked to a unique portfolio of our generic domain names and associated websites including some or all of: The Morning Advertiser (specialist trade website for the licensed trade), pubsforsale.co.uk, Zoopla, RightMove, DaltonsBusiness, and Businesses for Sale. Via such an approach your business has massive and rapid exposure to prospective purchasers worldwide
- Specific targeting of your business to our database of registered prospective purchasers (including private and corporate purchasers, and our source of purchasers emanating from our business training activity) including a weekly newsletter highlighting all new instructions. N.B. many of our clients sell their business and buy another through Guy Simmonds. An increasing trend is for business owners to move sectors, e.g. sell a pub and buy a B&B or coffee shop. Also, in addition to first-time business buyers, we have many prospective purchasers seeking to acquire additional outlets for their established business operation or simply to re-locate to larger premises and/or a different area.
- Where appropriate, inclusion of your business within specialist media including publicity releases and advertorial features
- Vetting of prospective purchasers prior to viewing
- Our professional advice in negotiating and endeavouring to secure an offer which is acceptable, and verifying the prospective purchaser's ability to proceed including documentary evidence of 'proof of finance' and identity to comply with money laundering regulations
- Ongoing advice through to legal completion of a sale, including a proactive support package (introductions to specialist commercial finance brokers, legal & other professional services) to help prospective purchasers complete their purchase
- Flexible fee options including a highly-competitive fully-inclusive fee - an agreed commission rate accompanied by our "no sale - no commission" guarantee. Alternatively, we offer a discounted commission rate in conjunction with a marketing contribution payable upon instruction
- We act as your sole agent and we are therefore fully invested and committed to you, our client, in endeavouring to achieve a successful sale
Your Sales Options:
1) Outright sale of freehold business, or leasehold sale (i.e. lease assignment)
This is a popular route to market where the owner of a business wishes to sell the business as a going concern. (We are also asked to sell businesses/properties which have ceased trading). This enables the owner to retire or exit from the business entirely with a substantial lump sum to pursue an alternative venture/lifestyle. The realisable value of the sale relates to the property and/or the business. Our expert valuers will determine a realistic overall value which (amongst other factors such as location) will depend on whether the property is freehold or leasehold. In the case of leasehold, factors such as the terms of the lease are taken into account, for example whether a licensed business is offered free-of-tie or is tied for its supplies. Trading performance measured by net profits is a major determinant of the value of the business. Of course, our experienced valuers will 'add back' extraordinary or personal expenditure to the profits shown in your accounts in order to illustrate the usually enhanced (reconstituted) net profits relevant to purchasers.
2) Creating a new free-of-tie (FOT) lease
An increasingly popular option, and a speciality of Guy Simmonds, is where we offer detailed advice to freeholder clients such that:
- the freeholder retains the freehold property interest, and
- creates a new 10-15 year, free-of-tie lease, and
- sells the business leasehold to a buyer sourced by Guy Simmonds
This approach enables retiring freeholder clients to sell their business and goodwill (producing a substantial cash lump sum on completion of sale) while retaining the property interest (an appreciating asset producing an attractive quarterly rental income). Of course, the freeholder has the option if required of selling the property at a later date.
All terms of business and our comprehensive sales service are as per Option 1 (outright sale), and we make no additional charge for our additional specialist advice in respect of creating a lease. We will be happy to introduce you to specialist solicitors who will draw up the necessary lease documentation.
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The Guy Simmonds Successful Approach to Progressing a Deal
When a sale has been agreed we will require 'proof of finance' from the buyer including details of any loan etc. Our policy, successfully formulated over 35 years, is for the buyer to lodge a preliminary and totally refundable deposit with Guy Simmonds as an act of good faith, commitment plus ability and desire to proceed. Under the very strict Money Laundering Regulations (2017) we will require prospective purchasers to comply in all respects including verifying their identity via passport or photo driving licence. When both vendor and purchaser are ready, we will then formally instruct solicitors to proceed with the transaction (full written details will be given). Our website details of the business will then be endorsed to illustrate that a deposit has been taken and solicitors instructed. Speed on exchange of contracts is therefore in the interests of all parties and we will use our best endeavours to move the transaction forward to a speedy exchange and successful completion.
Telephone Head Office on 01332 865112 to arrange a confidential appointment or to discuss your options.
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