The twelve-month exit checklist
If you think you might sell in the next few years, start this now. Everything on this list takes longer than you expect, and all of it is worth money on the day. None of it is wasted if you change your mind.
Twelve months out
- Get three years of clean accounts, with management accounts by month. If your bookkeeping is a shoebox, fix that first.
- Separate anything personal from the business: cars, phones, family on the payroll, the house insurance that goes through the company. A buyer adds these back, but they would rather not have to.
- Write down how the business runs. Short checklists for every repeatable job. See the guide on systems in the journal.
- Audit every managed property file against the checklist. Fix the gaps.
Nine months out
- Signed, current terms of business with every landlord, matching the fees actually charged.
- Proper employment contracts for every member of staff, with notice periods and restrictive covenants.
- Make sure the lease on the office has enough time left, or a renewal you can show.
- Sort any disputes. A live complaint, an unpaid supplier or a falling-out with a former employee will come up in due diligence and cost more then than it does now.
Six months out
- Stop doing the jobs only you can do. Hand over valuations, landlord relationships, the banking. The business must be seen to run without you.
- Tidy the client account. Reconciled every month, with the proof.
- Make a list of your top fifty landlords by fee, and make sure somebody other than you has a relationship with each of them.
- Decide what you want: the number, the timing, and what you are willing to do afterwards. A buyer will ask.
Three months out
- Get a view on value from somebody who has sold one, not just an accountant.
- Build the data room: accounts, files, contracts, leases, insurance, staff, systems. All in folders, all named sensibly.
- Decide who will know and when. Staff hear things. Plan the conversation rather than having it forced on you.
What I would tell you
Run the business as if due diligence starts next Monday. It is a better business for it, and if the right buyer appears early, you are ready.