PM+M is delighted to have recently been involved in Lancashire Business View’s ‘doing the deal’ event in association with Napthens Solicitors, Rowan Group and Seneca Partners. The hugely successful event brought together local business leaders, owner-managers and Lancashire deal professionals to share insights, experiences and guidance to help build confidence around the topic of buying and selling businesses.
The interactive event was split into two panel discussions, with the first being made up of local business owners who had previously engaged in company sales or acquisitions. As these deals differed in structure, the panellists covered a variety of considerations and challenges faced throughout the process.
On the topic of selling a company, the panel drew on their own experiences of managing the emotions involved and considering the potential impact on the business’ current and future team. Likewise relating to completing an acquisition, speakers stressed the importance of reassuring the target company’s employees about job security, completing careful due diligence and identifying opportunities with scalability.
The second panel consisted of professional advisers who work on deals in their day-to-day roles. An important focus of this panel discussion surrounded thinking strategically, and why business owners should only move forward with a deal once a suitable acquirer / target company has been found. The panellists also discussed the various opportunities that could arise from private equity backed deals in comparison to a trade sale, and how owners can carefully prepare their business for sale in the future (such as reviewing existing management structure, customer profile and concentration and other perceived weaknesses that could devalue a business).
For further advice please get in touch with enquiries@pmm.co.uk. If you would like to find out more about the recent ‘doing the deal’ event, make sure you keep an eye out for the feature in the next issue of Lancashire Business View.
