Acquisition Support from Start to Finish
Whether you’re looking to buy or sell a business, our business advisors and legal experts are uniquely placed to provide you with commercially minded advice around structuring the deal, along with tax planning support and all the necessary legal work you’ll need to get it over the line.
Buying a Business: Valuation to Completion and Beyond
We work with hundreds of businesses every year, and we’ve helped countless entrepreneurs acquire businesses. From the initial stages of valuation and price negotiation, through to finding a buyer that’s right for you, and then onto the due diligence, we’re positioned to act and advise from both a legal and a financial stand point. That way, no stone will be left unturned on the legal front, but we’ll also have your commercial interests in mind, ensuring the sale is structured correctly and that you’re not paying any unnecessary tax.
Selling a Business: Preparation is Key
Contemplating selling your business after years of hard work? We’ve also helped hundreds of entrepreneurs get the deal they’d like by working together to find the right buyer and to ensure their business is in the best shape possible to get the best price. Often, this can take years, and we work with business owners with exit planning to ensure there business is structured correctly, has a strong legal foundation and is capable of running without the founder. That way, a new buyer will be able to step into the driver’s seat without a hitch.
Due Diligence: Peace of Mind for your Acquisition
Our legal team work tirelessly to ensure acquisitions are beneficial to our clients. How? Through due diligence that aims to scrutinise and inspect every aspect of the business that’s being bought or sold. From employee contracts, supplier agreements, shareholders’ agreements and more, the due diligence uncovers any potential issues and ensures that as a buyer or seller you’re aware and have the agency to choose what you do about it.
The Difference between Legal and Financial Due Diligence
Whether you're buying or selling a business, you'll need to undertake thorough due diligence on either the buyer or the seller's business to ensure you're making the right decision.
Due diligence during an acquisition comes in two parts, the legal and the financial. Legal due diligence looks at:
- Contracts
- Share structures and ownership
- Employment matters and HR
- Ongoing litigation or disputes
- Property
- Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Copyrights
Financial diligence on the other hand looks at the below:
- Financial Statements
- Cash Flow & Working Capital
- Debts and liabilities
- Revenue and customers
- Cost structure and profit margins
- Tax and Compliance
- Assets and Investments
- Forecasts and potential growth plans
Combined, the buyer or seller can put together a full picture of the business they’re buying or the purchaser of their own business, and work out if any issues might hinder the deal. The more knowledge the better, and our ability to do both means no stone is left unturned.
The Benefits of Combining Legal and Financial Due Diligence
Ever felt the pain of chasing solicitors and estate agents when buying a house? Well imagine how much more difficult it is when you're buying a business. That's why we set out to do it all, so our clients have all the financial, legal and tax assistance they need to secure a smooth transition, whether they're buying or selling their business.
For both sides of an acquisition, preparation is key. Our unique offering means we can help make your business as attractive to a buyer from both a legal and a financial perspective. We’ll help put together an exit plan, we’ll ensure you’re corporate structure is easily transferable, we’ll look at your tax efficiencies, we’ll dive into the financial and legal elements mentioned above and we’ll even assist you post-sale or purchase to ensure you have a solid plan of what’s next. When we say we look after you and your business from start to finish, we really mean it, and it often surprises business owners how much assistance is needed along the way. So rather than juggling multiple relationships with lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, business brokers (the list goes on…) we do it all in one place, singing off the same hymn sheet to ensure the best commercial outcome.
Why is Exit Planning Important?
Many business owners consider selling their business, but without exit planning, it's not easy. Selling a business that you've toiled over is one of the most significant moments of an owners life, and unsurprisingly, it needs careful preparation to ensure you get the best deal and you don't pay over the odds in tax.
Exit planning starts years before a business sells. The earlier the better, in fact. That way, you can address any potential weaknesses, improve financial performance and ensure you’re set up in the most tax-efficient way possible. Are you overly reliant on one client? Is the owner too involved in the day-to-day? Have you never written up contracts? These are the kinds of questions to answer, and exit planning will resolve these issues and ensure your business is in ship shape for when you come to sell. Then you’ll have a solid business to pass on to a buyer, meaning you’ll be far more likely to get a good price for it too.
Meet Our Legal Director Rachel
Rachel singlehandedly launched the legal part of our offering back in 2019, and since then has worked with businesses of all shapes and sizes.
With over 20 years of experience, Rachel is a specialist in all the things your business will need: from business sales and purchases, due diligence, company restructuring, commercial contracts and commercial leases (the list just keeps going).
Rachel managed the full legal process involved in Aspire’s Acquisition of Method4, and she’s helped countless more entrepreneurs with buying businesses.
Our Head of Corporate Finance, Neil Nichols
Neil Nichols, Founder of Accounts and Legal set up the business after successfully growing and selling his previous company, Portico, which he ran alongside his brother Robert Nichols. During the process of selling, Neil was taken aback by the unnecessary friction between accounting and legal functions, and this is where the seeds were sewn for Accounts and Legal. After surveying other business owners, Neil found that the majority stated their accountants weren’t wholy useful past the necessary compliance work. Armed with this information, Neil set up Accounts and Legal to be genuinely useful to business owners, providing the services they need in one place.
Meet Neil Ormesher: Tax Planning Expert for Business Sales & Acquisitions
As CEO of Accounts and Legal, Neil Ormesher brings over 25 years of experience in accounting, tax planning, and business strategy. A fully qualified accountant, Neil has helped countless business owners navigate buying and selling businesses while maximising tax efficiency. In his previous role, Neil played a key part in growing the Danbro Business Brand from zero to 1,500 clients, building a high-performing team and a service offering dedicated to helping entrepreneurs. Most recently, Neil was instrumental in structuring the Westland Asset acquisition of Direct Sameday Services (DSS) read the acquisition case study here.
