How Ill Health Impacts a Business Sale

This is a difficult piece to pen, however, one that will hopefully help many business owners, their families and loved ones.

We have recently encountered an abnormally high amount of business operators who are needing to sell their empires quickly, due to terminal or serious health issues of the owner, or close family members.

For the wellbeing of those concerned, this is certainly not what we like to hear, and to add to the stress and strain of this scenario, often these businesses are not prepared well enough to achieve a fair result, let alone a quick sale.

It’s a fact that many retirement age business owners hang on longer than they need to. How often do you hear family members pushing their parents to sell up, retire and enjoy life…yet so often they don’t do anything about it, until there’s an issue, which can be too late.

When an urgent sale on a business is required, most times it will sell for much less that what it should be worth, or perhaps it may not be saleable at all, due to the fact it isn’t professionally prepared for sale.

Buyers of medium to large businesses want key staff members in place, they are not attracted to specialised businesses, where a certain/specific skillset is required, and most of the business knowledge is in the owners heads. They also want up to date financials, secure tenure, a decent tuition period but most of all they want to see the business growing. This is almost impossible if family are unwell, and owners are having constant time away from the day-to-day grind.

Selling a business can be challenging, even in the most straightforward of circumstances. We know that with the added complications that can surround ill health, even the most experienced business mind can be distracted from the decisions they need to make. This is why engaging an expert business broker prior to being in this scenario is so important.

Our experience has proven that as the health of owners declines, so does the performance of their business. Usually this is a double whammy, as often competitors will capitalise and increase their market share when key people cannot perform at the levels required to be successful.

We are a full-service business brokerage licenced to operate throughout NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Most of our sales are in S.E. Qld, where their market is clearly favours those astute business owners who are selling up and retiring whilst they are in a good position to do so.

There is a huge, short supply of quality business for sale and a genuine abundance of cashed up buyers, searching for new quality opportunities. Our industry is cyclic, and this will not be the scenario in time as the baby boomers finally let go and welcome their well-deserved retirement.

History proves that the timing of a sale and the profitability of your business are crucial to the end result and the time frame required in achieving this. So, if you want the best result and highest price possible, don’t be afraid to make a move whilst the business is going well. It could make the difference between negotiating with one buyer who wants to pay you less, or, choosing between a handful of buyers fighting to pay you more.