Our vendor completed on the sale of his practice in May 2022.
These comments were taken from his feedback form (and yes he did give us his permission):-
1 Why did you choose Draper Hinks to sell your practice?
I liked Nicola’s professional, but personable approach.
2 How have you found working with Nicola and Draper Hinks?
Nicola has been a huge help in demystifying the process & providing timely, sound advice. Nicola was 100% accurate in her assessment of the number of potential buyers & ultimate purchase offers that would be received.
3 What did you think of the process offered by Draper Hinks?
It was very smoothly managed from start to finish, with sage advice offered at key points.
4 What was good about working with Draper Hinks?
Ease of access via Zoom calls.
5 What concerns or worries did you have about selling your practice?
Initially, before speaking with Nicola, that I would have my time wasted by tyre-kickers, but Nicola reassured me from her vetting process that this would not be the case & it wasn’t. I also thought the process would be more adversarial, but, again, that was not the case with the calibre of potential buyers introduced by Nicola.
6 What would you say to someone else thinking about selling their practice and why they should use a broker and not sell it on their own?
Why hire any expert? Unless you’ve sold an accountancy practice before, use a broker ~ it’s their day job & they’ve sold more accountancy practices than you. As an accountant, you could be forgiven for looking with disdain at someone who takes their accounting & tax advice from their ‘mate down the pub’, so why sell something as important as your own business with little knowledge & no experience of the process?
7 What was the most difficult part of selling your practice?
There was a huge amount of data preparation work ahead of deal-day. Do not underestimate the likely number of hours required. Also, it’s boring & is always the last job to be done, if ever, but keep on top of your archiving, ideally, before you even begin the process, to avoid raising your stress levels as the line in the sand approaches & it’s time to hand over your files!
8 What made you choose the buyer you sold your practice to?
Similarity of business ethos, approach to client service & best fit with client base, hence, maximising the chance of client-retention & ultimately minimising clawback.
9 What are you going to be doing now you have sold your fees?
I am now fully retired from the world of accountancy & tax advice I am going to Drink beer. Go skiing in the winter & sailing in the summer. Then drink more beer…
10 What 3 tips would you give to a new vendor about the process of selling your fees?
Although I had a good feel for my client base, I had never had the need & therefore never spent the time previously analysing my client base to the level of detail required to give an accurate assessment of % by location, % by age group etc. However, I would advise that the hours are invested as it did prove fruitful in the subsequent discussions with potential buyers.
This seller was very happy with our service. If you want to have Draper Hinks to manage the process of selling your practice then please get in touch with me, Nicola Draper, on 01788 816440 or email me at n.draper@draperhinks.co.uk. Let me see how I can be of assistance. I look forward to talking to you.