If you are thinking about selling your park, it is important to prepare the business for sale well ahead of putting it on the market.
Not only does this mean making the park look presentable, but also getting your accounts looking good and the legal aspects of a park business right and up to date.
I have seen several parks put up for sale recently and part way through the sale process an issue is uncovered which could so easily have been dealt with pre-sale.
Such issues discovered during the sale process can:
- Put the buyer off and stop the sale;
- Allow the buyer to chip the price;
- Allow the buyer to make a retention of the price (which may never be paid);
- Give the buyer funding problems which in turn means the sale stops, the price has to be reduced or a retention made;
- Delay the sale which invariably increases the cost of the sale and risks the sale not progressing;
- Increase the seller’s professional fees in sorting the issue out and delay.
All of the above means the process becomes more stressful, takes longer than expected and costs the seller directly.
This could all be avoided if a quick legal audit of the matters a buyer looks for in a business is run through well before the sale. I recommend at least 6 months ahead of the sale.
Even if you decide not to put the business on the market, it is still worth going through the legal audit because we find businesses that are run through the eyes of a purchaser are better run, more sustainable and more profitable.
If you are thinking of a sale or just looking to improve your business profitability and sustainability, please let me know and I will send you a legal audit checklist to run through.
If you would like to talk through the legal audit process and which elements of your business a buyer will focus on, please call me on 01482 324591
Likewise, if you are a buyer and you want to know what you should be focussing on when buying a park business, please call me.
