In Utopian terms it’s better to be safe than sorry, however in the current financial climate it may not be possible to be 100% prepared for all eventualities.
However some practical steps are outlined below which will assist you in being pro-active rather than reactive:-
• Always have a plan B – the worst can happen
• The liquidity preference theory - manage your cash flow.
• Make the bank manager your new best friend - keep them abreast of your current situation.
• Get up to speed with tax - question what can be done to improve tax cash flow and ease payments
• Price correctly - don't have a knee-jerk reaction to the market.
• Review your terms and conditions - What happens if you deliver products to a customer who closes down before paying you? What terms do you have in place to limit your liability if there are problems? On what grounds can the contract be terminated?
• Manage your Debt Collection
• Your people - Your people are your biggest asset, but also during times of downturn unfortunately also often your biggest area of cost. Have you complied with legislation in respects of contracts for your employees? Do you know their key terms of employment? If you have to deal with redundancy, do you understand the process?
If you are looking for sound, practical, commercial legal advice at excellent prices then please contact us at ://www.amberglobelegal.com/
Showing posts with label commercial conveyancing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commercial conveyancing. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
August Vendor Report
Now that summer(?!) is over I think we are in for a period of increasing volatility in the financial markets. This will obviously do nothing for consumer confidence and the attitude of the banks. However I guess that’s nothing really new as we have all been trudging through treacle for the last three years anyway and I think most businesses have adapted and got used to the changed market conditions.
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/search.aspx
Our levels of buyer enquiries have remained very consistent over the last three years. We keep a weekly record of all buyer enquiries and in fact the statistics show that we are getting a rising level of enquiries as a percentage of the number of businesses on our books. So buyer interest and demand remain strong.
That being said we are fighting in the trenches on just about every deal to make them happen. Banks are slow and cautious, lawyers are equally slow and landlords are just a nightmare. I know that many vendors probably think that agents do very little for their commission but if I can just say that we reckon that once we have obtained an offer for your business we still have at least 50% more work to do to get your deal over the line.
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/sell.aspx
Because of the length of time that deals are taking to complete, tempers do get frayed and we see what is known in the sector as “deal fatigue” occurring. If I can just say that as a vendor you will need to dig very deep into your store of goodwill when you sell a business. You may well be driven to distraction with what you perceive are endless petty demands and changes requested by the purchaser, his bank or his solicitor. I have never met a vendor yet who didn’t start to get seriously hacked off by the demands of the deal. So if it happens to you please rest assured you are not alone! And if I can offer one small piece of advice it is just to keep your eye on the prize and focus on completing the sale of your business. In the weeks and months after completion all the many slights, demands and frustrations will fade away....but you will have your money and you will have sold your business.
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/search.aspx
Our levels of buyer enquiries have remained very consistent over the last three years. We keep a weekly record of all buyer enquiries and in fact the statistics show that we are getting a rising level of enquiries as a percentage of the number of businesses on our books. So buyer interest and demand remain strong.
That being said we are fighting in the trenches on just about every deal to make them happen. Banks are slow and cautious, lawyers are equally slow and landlords are just a nightmare. I know that many vendors probably think that agents do very little for their commission but if I can just say that we reckon that once we have obtained an offer for your business we still have at least 50% more work to do to get your deal over the line.
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/sell.aspx
Because of the length of time that deals are taking to complete, tempers do get frayed and we see what is known in the sector as “deal fatigue” occurring. If I can just say that as a vendor you will need to dig very deep into your store of goodwill when you sell a business. You may well be driven to distraction with what you perceive are endless petty demands and changes requested by the purchaser, his bank or his solicitor. I have never met a vendor yet who didn’t start to get seriously hacked off by the demands of the deal. So if it happens to you please rest assured you are not alone! And if I can offer one small piece of advice it is just to keep your eye on the prize and focus on completing the sale of your business. In the weeks and months after completion all the many slights, demands and frustrations will fade away....but you will have your money and you will have sold your business.
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Much like the wider economy activity remains steady but nothing to write home about. We are continuing to see reasonable levels of buyer interest but we are also seeing continued if not greater caution on the parts of buyers and their lenders. http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/search.aspx
One recent trend that has emerged is the role that solicitors are playing in a sale...or should I say their lack of it! Because the legal market has tightened and become very competitive on price we are seeing that solicitors who have provided a fixed price quote for a sale or purchase are refusing to deviate from their quoted work, so that for example they will not follow up or chase a landlord for his/her consent to an assignment of lease. This is frankly very time-consuming and landlords and their solicitors are usually in absolutely no hurry whatsoever to do the work. This can have a massive effect on how long it takes for a sale to complete and we are seeing deals collapse purely because of this, which is very frustrating for our clients.
As I have mentioned previously we have set up a joint venture with a highly experienced solicitor http://amberglobelegal.com/page/about/26/ who is consistently under-cutting other firms while still providing the type of service that you would expect. If you have not yet instructed a solicitor on your sale I would strongly urge you to get a quote from our solicitor....not only will you save yourself a great deal of money but you will also get a full legal service while considerably reducing the chances of your sale falling over. Her name is Naushad Rahman and she can be contacted at http://amberglobelegal.com/quote.php
http://www.amberglobelegal.com/
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
One recent trend that has emerged is the role that solicitors are playing in a sale...or should I say their lack of it! Because the legal market has tightened and become very competitive on price we are seeing that solicitors who have provided a fixed price quote for a sale or purchase are refusing to deviate from their quoted work, so that for example they will not follow up or chase a landlord for his/her consent to an assignment of lease. This is frankly very time-consuming and landlords and their solicitors are usually in absolutely no hurry whatsoever to do the work. This can have a massive effect on how long it takes for a sale to complete and we are seeing deals collapse purely because of this, which is very frustrating for our clients.
As I have mentioned previously we have set up a joint venture with a highly experienced solicitor http://amberglobelegal.com/page/about/26/ who is consistently under-cutting other firms while still providing the type of service that you would expect. If you have not yet instructed a solicitor on your sale I would strongly urge you to get a quote from our solicitor....not only will you save yourself a great deal of money but you will also get a full legal service while considerably reducing the chances of your sale falling over. Her name is Naushad Rahman and she can be contacted at http://amberglobelegal.com/quote.php
http://www.amberglobelegal.com/
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
Friday, 4 March 2011
February Report
Since my last report a couple of things have happened within Amberglobe:
The first is that we sold our first £2.5m+ business in 18 months. http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/sales.aspx We have another £1m+ sale scheduled for next month. To me these are early signs of the market beginning to improve. A year ago such sized deals were pretty much impossible to get away but both deals had significant levels of debt being advanced by banks and I think they are signs of an improving market.
I should however say that this does not mean that values are improving but just that bigger deals are finally happening. Both of these bigger deals are being done at very realistic prices and both have involved a level of vendor finance being provided.
The second thing that has happened here is that we have appointed an in-house solicitor http://amberglobelegal.com/ to provide exceptionally well-priced legal services to our vendor clients. For too long we have watched law firms muck up deals and provide a poor service to both buyers and sellers. By having an in-house solicitor handling our clients’ sales not only do I believe that our clients will be serviced efficiently and effectively but also at significantly better prices than can be obtained elsewhere. Our in-house solicitor is called Naushad Rahman and she has been practising law for over 13 years for both a large London firm and also on her own account, specialising in corporate finance and commercial law http://amberglobelegal.com/page/about/26/. If you would like to receive a quote for the legal work on your sale or indeed for any commercial law issue, then Naushad can be contacted on nr@amberglobe.co.uk or http://amberglobelegal.com/contact-us.php or 0800 707 6370.
Check out all our businesses for sale on http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
The first is that we sold our first £2.5m+ business in 18 months. http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/sales.aspx We have another £1m+ sale scheduled for next month. To me these are early signs of the market beginning to improve. A year ago such sized deals were pretty much impossible to get away but both deals had significant levels of debt being advanced by banks and I think they are signs of an improving market.
I should however say that this does not mean that values are improving but just that bigger deals are finally happening. Both of these bigger deals are being done at very realistic prices and both have involved a level of vendor finance being provided.
The second thing that has happened here is that we have appointed an in-house solicitor http://amberglobelegal.com/ to provide exceptionally well-priced legal services to our vendor clients. For too long we have watched law firms muck up deals and provide a poor service to both buyers and sellers. By having an in-house solicitor handling our clients’ sales not only do I believe that our clients will be serviced efficiently and effectively but also at significantly better prices than can be obtained elsewhere. Our in-house solicitor is called Naushad Rahman and she has been practising law for over 13 years for both a large London firm and also on her own account, specialising in corporate finance and commercial law http://amberglobelegal.com/page/about/26/. If you would like to receive a quote for the legal work on your sale or indeed for any commercial law issue, then Naushad can be contacted on nr@amberglobe.co.uk or http://amberglobelegal.com/contact-us.php or 0800 707 6370.
Check out all our businesses for sale on http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
Friday, 10 December 2010
Business Sale Checklist
Many business sales are delayed unnecessarily or even fall over because of relatively minor problems occurring at the wrong time.
So as to ensure that you have removed all possible barriers to being able to successfully complete the sale of your business, please find below a check-list that I hope you will find useful:
1. Title deeds (Freehold) - If your business is a freehold subject to a mortgage then your Mortgagee will be holding the title deeds.
Do you know your Mortgagee’s details and your mortgage account number:
If your freehold is not subject to a mortgage, do you know the location of your title deeds.
2. Title deeds (Leasehold) - If your business is a leasehold then what is the location of your lease. Is it with your solicitors or your bank?
Do you know your Landlord’s details or their agent’s details?
3. Fixtures & Fittings
We suggest you make an Inventory/list of fixtures and fittings and/or plant & equipment included in the sale.
4. Apportionment of price
We recommend that you discuss with your Accountant the apportionment between goodwill, fixtures and fittings and property.
5. Stock
Check your approximate stock level carried.
6. Employees
You will be required to provide the purchaser with the full details of your employees.
We recommend that you put together a file containing their names, addresses, dates of birth, hours worked, rates of pay and lengths of service. You will also need to provide the purchaser with copies of employment contracts, disciplinary details, holiday entitlements, bonus details, pensions and life cover details. Again we recommend that you start putting together that information in a file if you have not already done so.
7. Third Party Contracts
You will be required to provide the purchaser with details of any service/supply contracts for the business, e.g. regular suppliers, maintenance contracts for alarms, lottery and Paypoint details, advertising contracts etc
Also, you will need to provide the purchaser with details of any other commitments that you have paid in advance and that you will want the buyer to repay on completion.
8. Permits & Licences
You will need to provide copies of any Licences, Permits or Authorisations that allow you to trade; e.g. premises licence, Ofsted, Post Office etc.
Have you procured a Commercial EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) for your business premises? If not, then we can provide a quote.
9. Planning Permission
Please check your Planning Approval(s). Do you have planning consent for your use of the building?
If you have at any time increased the size of your building or business, did you get the necessary planning consent for that increase? If you did not get consent then this will almost certainly delay completion and possibly cause the sale to fall apart, consequently we recommend that you ensure that you have all necessary consents.
Do you have Building Regulations consents for any works you have carried out? Do you have plans/details of such works?
10. Business name
Are you happy to let the purchaser use it?
Do you intend to keep working or setting up in the same business in the same area after the sale?
Obviously if you wish to keep working in the same area or if you wish to retain the business name then this is likely to affect a sale and the goodwill value.
11. Website
If your business has a website, usually a purchaser will be buying this as well.
Do you know who is hosting your website?
Do you know who owns the domain name(s)?
Are you under any contracts regarding the hosting or management of your website?
We recommend that you check to ensure that you can and know how to transfer the website to the purchaser. We strongly recommend that you do not wait until completion to do this as the process can take some considerable time.
http://www.amberglobelegal.com/
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
So as to ensure that you have removed all possible barriers to being able to successfully complete the sale of your business, please find below a check-list that I hope you will find useful:
1. Title deeds (Freehold) - If your business is a freehold subject to a mortgage then your Mortgagee will be holding the title deeds.
Do you know your Mortgagee’s details and your mortgage account number:
If your freehold is not subject to a mortgage, do you know the location of your title deeds.
2. Title deeds (Leasehold) - If your business is a leasehold then what is the location of your lease. Is it with your solicitors or your bank?
Do you know your Landlord’s details or their agent’s details?
3. Fixtures & Fittings
We suggest you make an Inventory/list of fixtures and fittings and/or plant & equipment included in the sale.
4. Apportionment of price
We recommend that you discuss with your Accountant the apportionment between goodwill, fixtures and fittings and property.
5. Stock
Check your approximate stock level carried.
6. Employees
You will be required to provide the purchaser with the full details of your employees.
We recommend that you put together a file containing their names, addresses, dates of birth, hours worked, rates of pay and lengths of service. You will also need to provide the purchaser with copies of employment contracts, disciplinary details, holiday entitlements, bonus details, pensions and life cover details. Again we recommend that you start putting together that information in a file if you have not already done so.
7. Third Party Contracts
You will be required to provide the purchaser with details of any service/supply contracts for the business, e.g. regular suppliers, maintenance contracts for alarms, lottery and Paypoint details, advertising contracts etc
Also, you will need to provide the purchaser with details of any other commitments that you have paid in advance and that you will want the buyer to repay on completion.
8. Permits & Licences
You will need to provide copies of any Licences, Permits or Authorisations that allow you to trade; e.g. premises licence, Ofsted, Post Office etc.
Have you procured a Commercial EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) for your business premises? If not, then we can provide a quote.
9. Planning Permission
Please check your Planning Approval(s). Do you have planning consent for your use of the building?
If you have at any time increased the size of your building or business, did you get the necessary planning consent for that increase? If you did not get consent then this will almost certainly delay completion and possibly cause the sale to fall apart, consequently we recommend that you ensure that you have all necessary consents.
Do you have Building Regulations consents for any works you have carried out? Do you have plans/details of such works?
10. Business name
Are you happy to let the purchaser use it?
Do you intend to keep working or setting up in the same business in the same area after the sale?
Obviously if you wish to keep working in the same area or if you wish to retain the business name then this is likely to affect a sale and the goodwill value.
11. Website
If your business has a website, usually a purchaser will be buying this as well.
Do you know who is hosting your website?
Do you know who owns the domain name(s)?
Are you under any contracts regarding the hosting or management of your website?
We recommend that you check to ensure that you can and know how to transfer the website to the purchaser. We strongly recommend that you do not wait until completion to do this as the process can take some considerable time.
http://www.amberglobelegal.com/
http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/
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