The Time to Sell

I had an interesting conversation with an IFA in the week, who is thinking of selling up, with a view to be out by April 2023. He had been reading our guidebook to IFA sales which states:

“The decision to sell any business must be a matter of personal choice but there are some key times when to sell and when not to sell. It is generally accepted that the worst time to sell a practice, is when it is experiencing a downturn in business, any potential purchaser is going to focus on this as a possible way to reduce the value of their offer to you.”

His question was, with the current turmoil in the markets, is this a bad time to be considering a potential sale.

I was happy to answer that with a “No,” by a downturn in business we really refer to circumstances which are unique to an individual business, not those that    could be having an industry wide effect.

The good news is, most purchasers are market condition agnostic, the general state of the economy is of less importance to them than other factors, and they will allow for a downturn in fund values etc.

There will always be a buyer for your business, and at the present moment, with a plethora of deals available, it’s a good time to consider selling and securing a deal that fits both your plans and needs.

As mentioned in my email last month, I would urge any IFA thinking of selling, not to accept the first offer that comes your way, especially if it is unsolicited, you will have options open to you, and we will be pleased to outline them to you.

I’ve mentioned it a few times before, but selling part of an IFA business, is becoming more popular, this type of deal would see an IFA, dispose of those parts of a business, that they felt they no longer wanted to manage. We have completed deals on this basis, with as little as 16 clients changing hands.

The first milestone for consumer duty is now less than a fortnight away, and if any of you need any assistance with this, please do give us a call. The initial meeting is, as always, at our expense, and we are offering our “Consumer Duty Framework” for a fixed price fee.

As independent consultants to the financial services industry, we are well placed to help you explore a wide range of options. If you wish to sell your business, or develop it further, we are here to help.
To discuss your situation in confidence, please contact me directly via the details below. There is no charge for an initial call or meeting.