Simon Read runs your sale, from first conversation to completion.
Simon runs the sale of your electrical business himself, from the first approach to buyers to completion and the handover.
For owners whose business is ready to sell, and who are ready themselves.
A fee agreed in writing before we start.
Led by Simon Read, Founder & Managing Director.
What you get
- A confidential approach to the right buyers.
- Offers compared on their terms as well as the price.
- Negotiation led by Simon, with decisions made with you.
- Support through the buyer's checks to completion and the handover.
How it works
Agree the approach
The business story, the evidence and the buyers to approach.
Share information in stages
Detailed information only under a confidentiality agreement.
Compare credible offers
Funding, timing and conditions alongside the price.
The checks and the agreement
The buyer's checks, then the legal agreement.
Completion and handover
The sale completes on the agreed legal terms.
What we look at
Why it matters who runs the sale
Most owners sell a business once. The decisions that matter most, which buyers to talk to, which offer to accept and how the price is paid, come quickly once a sale is under way, and having one experienced person make them with you keeps them consistent.
Simon runs every sale himself. Your first conversation can be with Simon or Emily, and decisions on the sale are made with Simon.
Agreeing the approach
Simon agrees the business story, the supporting evidence and the buyers to approach with you. A short anonymous introduction protects the business's identity at first.
Electrical buyers range from regional rivals looking for electricians and contracts to groups backed by private equity, the investment firms that buy companies to grow and sell on, buying capability for work they have already won. Knowing which of them suits your business, your staff and your plans for afterwards matters as much as the price.
Sharing information in stages
Interested buyers are checked before they receive the detailed business information, and they receive it under a confidentiality agreement. You agree what is shared and when. The short anonymous introduction comes first, so the business is not identified to anyone who has not shown real interest.
The detailed document is the information memorandum: the confidential document that describes your business to serious buyers, shared only once they have signed a confidentiality agreement.
Comparing offers
Simon considers each buyer's funding, reasons for buying, timing and conditions alongside the price. A clear timetable helps you compare offers while the team keeps running the business.
How the price is paid matters as much as the headline figure. Part of it may be deferred, paid after completion either on fixed dates or, as an earn-out, only if the business hits agreed targets.
Due diligence and the sale agreement
The selected buyer examines the records in a controlled data room. Due diligence is the buyer's detailed check of your figures, contracts, tax, legal position and people, after a price is agreed in principle and before the sale completes.
Simon negotiates the commercial terms with you; solicitors prepare the appropriate sale agreement. An accepted offer is not completion, which is why preparation before this stage pays off.
When to tell your electricians
Timing matters. The usual advice is to tell your electricians after heads of terms, the outline of the deal's main points, have been agreed with a buyer, but before completion.
Told too early, a deal that falls through leaves anxiety behind, and key electricians may start looking elsewhere. Told too late, they can feel kept in the dark. The right moment is when you can give concrete reassurance: who the buyer is, what their plans are, and that you will be there during the handover.
Completion and the handover
The sale completes on the agreed legal terms. The handover covers people, records and the business assets included in the agreement, including permitted online access.
Then comes the handover period itself, introducing the new owner to key customers and supporting your electricians and office team through the change, and any part of the price paid later falls due on the terms agreed.
What you'll need to have ready
- Your Snapshot or Full Review report, if you have one.
- Your contract schedule and registration records.
- Your accounts and current management accounts.
- An accountant or tax adviser, and a corporate solicitor who handles business sales.
What happens after
After completion, the handover runs on the terms agreed. Before you get there, line up your tax adviser and solicitor, and if your timing is urgent, talk to Simon about what can realistically be done before approaching buyers.
Questions owners ask
What does the sale cost?
A fee agreed in writing before we start.
Who runs my sale?
Simon runs every sale himself.
Does buying preparation commit me to selling through Reads?
Buying a preparation service does not commit you to selling, or to selling through Reads.
The Full Value & Sale Readiness Review comes before the sale in the same steps towards a sale. A fee agreed in writing before we start. Buying a preparation service does not commit you to selling, or to selling through Reads.
Start with a figure.
The valuation calculator gives you a price range as soon as you finish, and Simon can talk it through with you.