Selling a Business

Naturally you want the best return from selling your business. Achieving that can be challenging, but our advice can guide you through a straightforward and satisfyingly rewarding transaction.

Gordon

Gordon Steele

Head of Corporate Finance

Contact Gordon Meet the team

Who we can help

  • OWNER MANAGERS
  • ENTREPRENEURS
  • SMES
  • LARGE BUSINESSES

How we can help

  • DEAL STRUCTURING
  • ANALYSIS
  • TRANSACTION SUPPORT
  • NEGOTIATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS
  • PROJECT MANAGEMENT
  • BUSINESS VALUATION

YOUR SALE: IT’S PERSONAL

Contact us for support with your sale

You’ve put blood, sweat, tears, money and countless hours into building your business. So you can’t help but feel deeply involved when it comes to selling it. We’ll help you take a calm view of the entire transaction.

You don’t sell your business every day, but we’ve spent years advising owners on their sale. So at every stage, we’ll be by your side with proven, practical advice to achieve your ultimate aim: a good home for your business and the best possible deal for you.

WHERE DO YOU START? RIGHT HERE.

Although there are many elements to your business sale, they can be broken down to a few key questions:

  • What is it worth?
  • Who will want to buy it?
  • Is now the best time to sell it?
  • Do I need a quick sale?
  • What does it mean for my tax?

We’ll use our experience and up to date insights to give you objective and comprehensive answers to all of these. For example, when valuing your business we’ll take into account not only your physical assets such as equipment, but the intangibles like future financial performance, customer base and IP.

Ready to sell your business?

  • The secondment support provided by AAB helped us streamline our accounting processes and enabled us to produce automated management reports from our accounting software. We have seen real benefits in the quality and timeliness of our information.

    Charlie Parker, John Lawrie Group

  • The Corporate Finance team at AAB understood our business and led us towards concluding a tremendous deal. The team at AAB were thorough, proactive and efficient showing command and control of all the key elements of getting a deal done.

    Keith Wallace, EPC Offshore

  • The work AAB provided on our auto enrolment was excellent. Timely and pragmatic work delivered to high professional standards, whilst remaining personable and efficient throughout. Well done!

    Richard Smeaton, PD&MS Group

  • AAB have provided an invaluable service to my company over the years with fantastic taxation advice, financial planning and training for our staff.

    Roy Cowie, Roy Cowie LBS Limited

MATCHING YOU WITH A BUYER

You may already have a prospective buyer, but it’s most likely that you will need to identify potential likely purchasers and market to them, along with providing the information and business plans they will need.

Again, we can help by working to find a suitable buyer. Whether that means selling the business in the UK or abroad we look after the process, vetting them, making the initial approach and, once they’re interested, producing documents and handling all contact and negotiations with them. We’ll keep you fully up to speed with developments and check you’re happy throughout, whilst making sure you can still concentrate on running the business.

Get in touch

A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO TAX

As you move towards agreeing a price and concluding the sale, it’s time to consider the tax implications.

Our advice on tax will be based not only on minimising your liability, but also on your immediate needs and ongoing lifestyle after the business has been sold. By doing this, we can ascertain the arrangement that provides the best balance of profitable sale and the most effective long-term tax solution.

Talk to us about selling your business

YOU’VE SOLD YOUR BUSINESS NOW WHAT?

After the years of dedication to your business and the intense activity of the sale, there may seem to be a sudden vacuum. Now is the time to reflect on when you started your business and all the things you promised yourself for the future.

Our personal wealth team can help you plan your finances so you and your family can enjoy all those activities you’ve looked forward to. If, however, you feel too young to retire, our corporate finance team can help you start-up or purchase a new business, so you can relive the challenge and excitement again!

Get advice from our team of experts

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  1. Blog17th Jul 2025

    Paul Turner, Corporate Finance Partner and author of blog about business valuations

    Business Valuation: 5 ways they can add value

    When discussing business valuations, it can be easy to focus solely on their role in selling a company, but there are, in fact, many situations where they are required. A valuation report provides crucial insights for businesses at every stage…

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  2. Blog23rd Jun 2025

    Ashok Thomas, author of blog about buying a business

    5 Essential Steps to Buying a Business: A step-by-step guide

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  3. Blog13th Feb 2025

    Callum Gray, author of article about selling your business

    A Guide to Selling Your Business: Maximising Value

    As a business owner, it is often second nature to prioritise the daily operations and achieving short-term goals. However, the more consideration and attention paid to succession proofing your business, the increased likelihood of achieving long-term success. Whether approaching retirement…

    By Callum Gray

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