Vendor Story £450,000 West Sussex

We were first contacted by this vendor in the September before we started to market the practice, the following April.  He wanted to understand how the process worked and what he needed to do to get his practice seller ready.  We had a long conversation over the phone and we were able to explain to him what would happen, what his commitment would be and how we would be involved all the way through to completion.  The paperwork was subsequently sent to him for completion. 

It was very sad to hear that his wife was very ill with ovarian cancer and her condition was getting worse.  She was not involved in the practice in any way.  The vendor’s time was being taken away from the running of the practice to spend as much time as was left with his wife.

Luckily, he had an amazing team that all rallied round, so that he could take time out whenever there was an appointment to attend at the hospital with his wife.  He was adamant that he wanted to sell to a buyer that was Chartered.  No other qualification would be sufficient.  He was also adamant that he did not want to be paid on an earn out basis.  It was very important that he was paid a lump sum on completion.  The bigger the lump sum the better. 

The typical default payment structure is a third paid on completion, a third paid at the end of 12 months and a third paid at the end of 24 months, subject to the retention of the clients.  He did well to get the buyers to agree to pay him 50% up front.  We had to get proof of funding from the buyer before the vendor would accept the offer. 

He returned our paperwork completed and signed, giving us written permission under GDPR to act on his behalf to market his practice.  We made sure that every Zoom call between the buyer and the seller, was hosted by Draper Hinks.  There was no way that we would allow the vendor’s vulnerable state to be taken advantage of by the buyer.  We held his hand throughout. 

We need not have worried.  The buyer was totally professional at all stages in the process and mindful of the fact that some of these Zoom calls were held in his home, and then in a hospital and eventually in a hospice.  It was a very sad day when the vendor let us know that his wife of many years had succumbed to the cancer and had passed away. 

He took a sabbatical and went away for a few weeks to be with family.  Once he returned, he was even more determined to get the sale through as quickly as possible.  He had been looking forward to spending a long retirement with his wife, but this did not happen.

The buyer was buying the limited company, which meant that the due diligence was very lengthy.  Solicitors were involved with the legals and after many months the deal completed.  The vendor is currently working with the buyers through the hand over.  But his heart is set on spending more time with his family, especially his grandchildren, making music and travelling. 

We got a fantastic testimonial from the vendor.  He was fully appreciative of all the extra work we put in to making this as seamless a process as possible.  He certainly went through a lot of emotions and we were so pleased we could be of help in a difficult time.  We had a big thank you from him for going over and above what was expected.