Are you going to be able to sell your business during these interesting times?
Owner managers looking to exit their businesses
Many owner managers in due course are naively expecting to be able to sell their businesses. There is much talk about “growth markets” and “technology start-ups”. But back to the real world market conditions have made it more difficult than ever to sell “traditional businesses” that operate in flat or tough markets even if they are generating cash and profitable. When they decide to do so – owners too become baffled or reach a stalemate when trying to sell their businesses; unaware of the process or the options. Often a fair return or sale is road blocked due to succession issues, alongside owners eventually becoming tied into huge end – end transactional costs, and “inflexible sale centric solutions” Karl Zierold goes on to say “Businesses sale agencies often miss the ability to adequately support the owners interests and therefore become misaligned or unable to realise best value..
Funding options for SMEs
Icebreaker Executive see the world through the business owners eyes so have launched a range of services to enable owner manager looking to retire a managed route to exit, either staggered but with investors committed to the plan from the start. Icebreaker is backed with funding solutions that range from £750k – £30m from a variety of entrepreneurial sources from within their network. Icebreaker Executive have been involved in transformation, growth and turnaround over the last 5 years which has created strong relationships with a network of active and decisive VC or high net worth investors and entrepreneurs who act and make decisions quickly. The funding works alongside the icebreaker team who can flexibly to plug management gaps and form MBI teams and or manage the entire process. Tom Pickering CEO adds “Our experience from some very challenging circumstances enables us to work with owners to identify their interests. We would normally find the most likely / optimal path in the first half day and over the next couple of weeks detail and line the solution up”
Making a business attractive for sale
Karl Zierold who leads the focus on growth says; “How do you make a business attractive to sell? Growth is the key differentiator to create the shining star. So icebreaker focused on, providing an to get the customers team to action, and the to manage the process, resourcefully fill organisational gaps and enable the owner to retire.”
Live case studies
Icebreaker have several projects in progress an owner of a SE high technology manufacturing / consultancy market leader who is looking to realise value over a 2 year period and back out of their business due to bad health. Conversely the other is the classic case of a Midlands b2b product distributor where the owner manager / rainmaker is stuck as their exit is a major threat to revenue. The other is a Midlands construction business owner operating in a service niche who did a MBI several years ago using bank debt now weighing the options for sale looking for an MBI team. Icebreaker can uniquely manage these transitions and adjust their model aligned to the owners needs.
Tom Pickering Icebreaker Executive CEO says “Whilst we need owners commitment, we work alongside owners as part of their team. We have the resources to enable businesses start again / turnaround and or transform profitable businesses..” The teams varied from over 150 plcs and fast growth manufacturing and technology businesses experience keep minds open to new and different ways”. “Our uniqueness is the way we create the plan, engage employees, and . Over the last 5 years we have transformed over 25 organisations from £2m training businesses to plc subsidiaries.