The best time to sell your business is when sales and profits are strong. This helps generate interest from buyers, and allows you to place a higher value on your business. It can take up to 2 years to plan a successful business exit, so it's a good idea to use this time to strengthen your business and maximise its value.

If you need to sell quickly for financial or personal reasons, you may find it difficult to achieve a higher price. Contact our highly experienced sales’ agents at Raine & Horne Commercial Hervey Bay as soon as possible so we can put a plan in place to achieve the best possible outcome in the time available.

Planning the sale of your business involves making specific decisions about why, when and what you are selling, and who you are selling to.

Preparing to Sell

Think carefully about your reasons for selling, your goals for the future and how you can pull your business into shape before the sale (if it isn't already). A good strategy is to give yourself plenty of time to prepare your business before you advertise it for sale. You could focus on:

showing year-round profitability
reducing your costs
building a strong management team
maintaining high-quality products or services
developing a unique product or service
expanding your online presence
creating a strong customer base to reduce your reliance on 1 or 2 large clients
maintaining premises and making sure assets are in good condition
signing shorter-term or longer-term leases - whichever makes your business more attractive to buyers
using formal, written contracts rather than informal handshake or verbal agreements
developing comprehensive business, marketing and succession plans to enable your staff to run the business when you sell it
settling any outstanding legal or tax matters (e.g. warranty claims).

Improving these areas should strengthen your business, and make it easier for you to attract serious buyers. Once you have considered these factors, our team at Raine & Horne Commercial Hervey Bay would be more than happy to attend to the premises and conduct a market appraisal, so you can get an informative opinion on where your property is in the current market.

Legal Obligations

As a seller, you have certain obligations, including those to employees and potential buyers. Failure to fulfil these obligations can have legal consequences. It is a good idea to seek professional help from your lawyer or business broker during this time.

Consider the following questions about your legal obligations:

Can your business licences be transferred or should they be cancelled?
Are you going to sell or retain your registered trademarks?
Do you need to contact your local council to cancel any local licences or permits?
Will you need to transfer title on any lease agreements - such as for property, cars and equipment - to your buyer? The new owner and your landlord will need to agree on a transfer and you will need to pay the costs.
Will your employees remain working in the business? If not, you will need to arrange employment termination payments and cancel your policy with WorkCover Queensland.
Have you informed your creditors well in advance of the actual sale?

Handing Over the Business

After settlement, there's usually a handover process. You'll probably need to plan this process well in advance of the actual handover and maybe even in consultation with your buyer.

The terms of the handover will be stated in the contract. Business handovers often take place over a period of time.

Some of the steps involved in the handover may include:

introducing the buyer to important clients and suppliers
introducing the buyer to employees
providing a period of training to the buyer
handing over all keys, alarm codes and security devices to the buyer
notifying utility suppliers (telephone, electricity and gas companies)
notifying bank, insurer, Australia Post, industry association etc. of the change of owner.

If you are looking at selling your business please contact our office at Raine & Horne Commercial Hervey Bay for a confidential discussion with one of our experienced Sales' Agents.

Selling Your Business