| Details of a deal done in 2023 | |||
| Fees sold | £117,900 | Where | Northumberland |
| Qualified | FCA | Age | 68 |
| Time scale | 12 months | Type of Practice | Sole Practitioner |
| Payment | 3 tranches | How paid | 50%, 25% & 25% |
| Multiple | 1 x fees | When paid | Comp, 12 months a& 24 months |
| Offers | 3 offers | Office & staff | Office and staff retained by buyer |
| Results | Vendor looking to spend quality time with family, particularly grandchildren | ||
This is a story of two halves. The vendor approached us to sell his practice in 12 months ago. He had been thinking about doing something for a long time but had not got around to it. His practice was based in the north east with few large towns, let alone cities, nearby. Because the location of the practice was very remote, we thought it may take some time to find a buyer.
The vendor completed and returned our paperwork, so we were able to do a search for him in his area for any buyers that may be interested in buying his accountancy practice. We managed to find a buyer that was looking to grow their practice in the area and so we set up a meeting. They got on very well. The buyer put in an offer, which was accepted by the seller and they proceeded to due diligence. There were no issues brought up in due diligence so a date was set for completion to take place. The seller was getting ready to let his clients know about the change of ownership and then the buyer pulled out. No reason given, they must have got cold feet and said they did not want to take things any further. The seller was really upset and needed to take time off to re-group.
After a few months we spoke with the seller and started the process again. We were successful in finding another buyer that was keen to move into the area. He could not have been further away from our vendor. He was based in Kent and found out about this practice for sale on our website. We carefully vetted the buyer before putting him forward to the seller.
They both got on really well. All the negotiations were done via Zoom and email. The buyer did the due diligence remotely as well. Contracts were drawn up and you can imagine our seller was beginning to get very nervous at this point because the buyer had said he wanted to take on both the office and the staff but had not yet travelled up from Kent to see what he was buying.
As it happened, the buyer was true to his word. He did everything he said he was going to do when he was going to do it. He was part of a franchise so decisions had to be made by committee. This had its advantages and disadvantages. It meant he had the back up of a larger organization that had overseen many practice purchases before and could help with all the legal paperwork but it also meant that nothing moved quickly.
Eventually the deal went through. The clients were informed, the staff member was happy to stay on and the removal van was booked so that the buyer could move hundreds of miles away to take over the running of the practice.
The time scale for completing this deal was 12 months. The vendor did nothing wrong and we did nothing wrong. It would have gone through a lot more quickly had the first buyer not pulled out. You can never be sure that a deal will complete until the ink is dry on the contract and the money has been exchanged.
Please rest assured that if we do not succeed at first, we do not walk away. We try again. With the co-operation of the vendor we were able to get a very successful outcome for both parties. The vendor is now enjoying time with his wife, children and most importantly the grandchildren.
If you are thinking about selling your practice and are worried about the process then please get in touch with us. You can book a Zoom meeting with me to have a no obligation, totally confidential, chat any time using this link: https://calendly.com/draper-hinks/q_a