Graham sold part of his practice through Draper Hinks several years ago. It did not go smoothly and he ended up having to sue the buyer. But that is another story. I recently met up with Graham to ask him for his top tips when selling a practice. Tip 1 Don’t expect it to go smoothly. Expect there to be …

We have had a number of vendors approach us this year not wanting to have to deal with MTD. Their sole purpose of selling was to avoid having to put things in place to deal with yet another system to be compliant in the ever changing world of accountancy. The first practice we marketed this year was for a lady, …

When a buyer buys accountancy fees they are looking to minimise their risk but at the same time maximise their return. I have yet to find a buyer that pays out a significant amount of money without wanting a good return on the investment. We have come across a few pitfalls that buyers find when they buy fees. In our …

Anyone making an investment of any kind wants to have a return. Buyers of accountancy practices are no different. There are several common things a buyer needs to take into account when looking to buy accountancy fees. If a vendor has staff that have been in the practice for a long time ie 25 – 30 years, under TUPE regulations, …

I often get asked if there is a good time or a bad time for selling accountancy fees. The obvious answer is not to try to sell your accountancy practice in December or January. I am now going to contradict myself by saying you can actually sell fees any time in the year, if you have to. We have had …

On a Wednesday afternoon in March, we had a call from a concerned relative.  His brother had just died.  His brother was an accountant and had clients that needed looking after.  His sister-in-law, was who was now a widow, did not want to have to deal with the clients of the practice on top of her own personal grief. As …

Is it really 4 years?  Apparently, it is, I hadn’t noticed. Actually, it is nearer to 5 years ago that my wife, Kaye, my partner in our Oxfordshire based firm handed me a glass of red, looked me in the eye and said, “Do you really mean it?”  A few minutes earlier I had suggested that we’d had enough.  FRS101 …

Just because you have stopped working does not mean that you are not liable for the work you have done in the past – you have an open period for claims to be made as set out under the statute of limitations.  Generally 6 years past the last date at which advice was given is the accepted norm. You may …

MTD is going to be introduced in 2019. At Draper Hinks we predict that there will be many accountancy firms that will not want to embrace the changes necessary to be MTD compliant. This will affect the market place. This is a great opportunity to buyers because we envisage there will be more practices coming on to the market for …

We only deal with the buying and selling of accountancy fees and to date have done over 215 deals. Although our methodology is transferable to other professions, we choose to specialise in this market place. If you work with us then you know you are dealing with a broker that has a lot of experience, market knowledge and a willingness …