| | A new report has
revealed that if you are
the CEO of a small or
medium management
consultancy in the UK,
then there has never
been a better time to
sell your business.
Paul Collins,
co-author of the
European Consulting
Mergers and Acquisitions
Report 2007, said that
firms which have sales
of over £3m per annum
are the most likely to
be made an attractive
offer for their business
by competitor firms or
private equity houses
and investors. So if you
are around that size and | |
|
| | can show a well run
business with a healthy
sales pipeline – now
could be a golden
opportunity to put plans
in place for your
retirement, or that
yacht in the South of
France!
Collins, who is
managing director of
consultancy advisory
firm Equiteq and sold
his 30% stake in his old
firm WCI back in 2002,
has been studying the
M&A consulting market
with co-author and
co-director David
Cheesman since 1995.
Cheesman said: "The
market has tripled in | |
|
| | volume since 2003 and
it's largely because
more private equity
firms are becoming
interested in buying
consultancies. That is
because service business
like consulting, if well
run, has a reputation
for healthy profits and
a good cashflow. For an
investor this provides
an opportunity to
improve the returns from
their portfolio of
investments. For the
owners of consulting
firms, it's a chance to
sell up and enjoy some
of your hard earned
equity, begin a new
venture, retire, or a | |
|
| | bit of all three!"
So, how should firm
owners go about finding
the right buyer for
them?
Cheesman advises:
"They should begin by
examining their current
sales and marketing
processes – are they
producing a healthy
pipeline of leads and
new business? This will
be a big draw to a
buyer. They also need to
get the management team
on the same page,
discuss the way forward,
decide whose behind it,
who isn't, and what the
options are to keep
everyone happy – a | |
|
| | leveraged management
buy-out where the
founders go but some of
the team stay, for
example. Lastly, firm
owners should engage
expert advisors who
really know the
consulting industry,
people who know who is
buying who and will help
them find a buyer who
'fits' both
strategically and
culturally."
For more information
please visit
www.equiteq.co.uk.
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