Planning for retirement or succession
You are thinking about stepping back in the next few years and want to understand your options, including a sale, while there is time to prepare.
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Selling your business deserves more than a valuation
Independent, experienced M&A advice for owners of privately held UK businesses, with direct involvement from the first conversation to completion.
- For owners of privately held UK businesses
- A select number of clients
- Direct involvement throughout
Selling a business is one of the most significant financial decisions an owner will make.
At Hogan Capital, we believe good advice starts with an honest assessment of value, realistic expectations and a clear understanding of what matters to the shareholder.
We work with a select number of business owners, providing direct, experienced support throughout the entire transaction — from initial valuation and buyer identification to negotiations, due diligence and completion.
Discuss your businessValuation & preparation
We provide realistic, commercially informed valuations based on financial performance, market conditions, buyer appetite and the characteristics of the business.
We also help shareholders identify areas that may affect value or transaction readiness, allowing them to make informed decisions before approaching the market.
Buyer identification
Identifying the right buyer involves more than simply generating enquiries.
We assess potential purchasers based on strategic fit, financial capability, acquisition rationale and their ability to complete a transaction, with the objective of identifying credible buyers capable of delivering an attractive overall outcome.
Negotiation & structuring
The highest headline offer isn’t always the best offer.
We advise shareholders on the commercial terms that determine the real value of a transaction, including consideration payable at completion, deferred payments, earn-outs, working capital adjustments and other financial arrangements.
Our focus is on negotiating commercially sensible terms that reflect the shareholder’s objectives. How we compare offers
Due diligence & completion
Agreeing Heads of Terms is an important milestone, but it’s far from the end of the transaction.
We remain directly involved throughout financial and commercial due diligence, working alongside buyers, accountants and solicitors to address issues, negotiate commercial points and maintain momentum through to completion.
When owners
talk to us
Most conversations start well before a business is formally for sale. There is no wrong moment to ask for an honest view.
You have received an approach
A buyer has been in touch and you want an independent view on value, on the buyer, and on whether to engage at all.
You want to know what the business is worth
A realistic valuation, and a clear view of what would increase it, before you decide anything.
You are ready to sell
You want a well-run process that finds the right buyer, protects the value you have built and reaches completion.
From first conversation
to completion
A sale typically takes six to twelve months from preparation to completion. Throughout, you deal directly with Peter.
Every transaction is different, but the shape of a well-run process is consistent. Knowing what comes next, and why, makes better decisions possible at each stage.
Initial conversation
An informal, confidential discussion about your business, your objectives and your timing.
Valuation & preparation
A realistic view of value, and of anything that could affect it, before approaching the market.
Approaching buyers
Credible buyers identified and approached discreetly, under confidentiality agreements.
Offers & Heads of Terms
Offers compared on what they are really worth, and the terms that matter to you negotiated.
Due diligence
Still directly involved: issues addressed, commercial points negotiated and momentum maintained.
Completion
Final documents agreed and signed, and the transaction completed.
The highest offer isn’t
always the best offer
A £5 million offer with substantial deferred consideration, demanding earn-out conditions or uncertain funding may ultimately be less attractive than a lower offer with greater certainty of completion.
We help shareholders understand what an offer really means, including the amount payable at completion, deferred consideration, working capital adjustments and the commercial risks involved.
Our objective isn’t simply to negotiate the highest headline price. It’s to achieve the best overall outcome for the shareholder.
What we look at in every offer
- Paid at completion
- How much you receive on the day the deal completes, and how the buyer is funding it.
- Deferred consideration
- How much is paid later, over what period, and what security sits behind it.
- Earn-out conditions
- Which targets apply, how they are measured and how much control you keep over meeting them.
- Working capital and cash
- How normal working capital, cash and debt are defined, and what the adjustments mean for your proceeds.
- Certainty of completion
- The buyer’s track record, conditions, exclusivity and the risk of the price being renegotiated later.
Who buys businesses
like yours
Different buyers value the same business differently. Part of our role is identifying which are most likely to see the value in yours, and which are genuinely able to complete.
Trade buyers
Competitors, suppliers or customers looking for scale, capabilities or access to new markets. Often able to pay for the strategic fit they see.
Private equity and backed groups
Investors and the companies they back, focused on the management team, the quality of earnings and the potential to grow.
Private investors and family offices
Individuals and families seeking established businesses with stable earnings, often over a longer horizon.
Management teams
The people who already run the business, buying it with external funding. A route that can protect continuity.
What you can
expect from us
- An honest view of value. A realistic range, the reasoning behind it and what could move it, so your decisions are based on what buyers are likely to pay.
- Peter, throughout. The person you meet first is the person who runs your transaction, from preparation to completion.
- Joined-up advice. We work alongside your accountants and solicitors, keeping everyone aligned and the timetable moving.
- Confidentiality. Buyers are approached discreetly and only under confidentiality agreements, at a pace you are comfortable with.
- Independent advice. Our independent advisory services and investment activities are managed separately. Where a potential conflict of interest arises, this will be disclosed and addressed transparently.
Thinking about the future
of your business?
Whether a sale is months or years away, an initial conversation is confidential and without obligation. Peter will reply to you personally.