Potential Seller Newsletter December 2020

Nicola Draper founder Draper Hinks

Hello, I’m Nicola Draper.  I run Draper Hinks and this year will be our 20th Anniversary.  We sell only accountancy fees and I am excited to announce that, since inception, we have completed over 315 deals.

We are very proud of our track record and our reputation.  Please feel free to contact me anytime at n.draper@draperhinks.co.uk with any questions.

 

Sell through Draper Hinks and get:- 

  • A high income multiple for your fees.
  • A buyer that will look after your clients and your staff.
  • A meeting day to interview a number of buyers for suitability.
  • A selection of offers for your practice.
  • A call from Nicola before meeting buyers to answer any questions you have about the process and what to expect.
  • A tried and tested means for selling your fees in a timely manner with maximum benefit to you.
  • Advice throughout the process, with no limit on the number of calls or emails. 

Please contact Nicola at n.draper@draperhinks.co.uk or phone her on 01788 816440, to see how we may be able to help you.

Round up of 2020 and Market Commentary

We started back at work in January 2020 fired up and ready to go.  In 2019 we had had our best year to date and were hoping to continue the trend of year on year record number of deals and increased turnover.  However, Covid 19 struck and we had to close our doors at the end of March.  We were all furloughed and stayed at home.  All deals were suspended, no one wanted to buy or sell fees. 

We re-opened on the 15th June along with other shops and businesses.  The vast majority of our clients were too busy dealing with their own client queries to have time to think about resuming negotiations.   However, we did have a couple of completions in the summer. 

Face to face meeting have morphed into Zoom calls.  Some due diligence is still done face to face but a lot is now done electronically.  We have found that multiples have not changed.  We did expect them to go down, but this has not been our experience.  In fact we had an offer higher than we had seen in over 3 years. 

One thing we have found is that sellers are getting weary.  With having to work longer than desired, many vendors just want to stop, sell and go.  The number of vendors coming to us suffering from stress has gone up noticeably.  This puts a pressure on reducing the time to complete the deal, which then lowers the amount being paid.  But it is always better to sell and stay sane than wait and regret it afterwards.  If you want to sell your fees then please contact me, Nicola Draper, at n.draper@draperhinks.co.uk or you can phone me on 01788 816440.  We would like to wish you every success for 2021 and say thank you for your support in 2020.

 

Income Multiples Paid in the last 12 months  

2019

Quarter

Average income multiple paid

Lowest income multiple paid

Highest income multiple paid

Lowest income multiple offered

Highest income multiple offered

Quarter 4

Oct – Dec

0.9125

0.7

1.1

0.65

1.2

2020

Quarter 1

Jan – Mar

1.075

0.9

1.25

0.9

1.25

Quarter 2

Apr – Jun

1.13

1.0

1.2

1.0

1.2

Quarter 3

Jul – Sep

0.9766

0.65

1.28

0.65

1.28

Season’s Greetings from us all