01
The conveyancing business that chose its own exit
The situation. A £3m online conveyancing business, barely three years old and growing fast. The business was a front-end sales engine: it signed up clients, while a panel firm of solicitors carried much of the manual conveyancing. Two owners — one close to retirement and wanting a pay day, the other younger and happy to stay. They first came looking for a view on a strategic collaboration with that firm of solicitors, and asked for the options to be examined and the best approach recommended.
What we found. The solicitors pulled out of the review — but the founders pushed ahead anyway. What the review showed was that each founder was hoping for an exit price of roughly twice what the business was then worth.
What we did. The honest answer: that valuation was achievable, but not yet. It needed a plan to grow profit and, more importantly, to lift the multiple by changing the operating model. The single biggest move was stepping away from the day-to-day: the founders recruited a CEO — advised on the selection — and re-set how they worked, so the CEO ran the business while they kept influence through the right controls and processes.
What happened. Something unexpected: they fell back in love with the business. A later sales process run by a corporate firm focused on the buyer and the bottom line, rather than the potential and premium multiple the owners had built — and it failed. Instead, the business completed a multi-million pound transition to employee ownership.
Where they are now. Owners in control of a stronger business, an exit achieved on their terms, and a workforce that owns the outcome.
“You have helped us look at and understand our business in a way that we had never really considered, and empowered us to keep control of the outcome to achieve our original objectives.”
What an owner should take from this. Your priorities and aims can change — for the better — during a properly curated exit process. The point of the process is that you keep control of the decision, including the decision to change direction.
02
The four founders who built what a global technology group wanted
The situation. A technology firm, four founders, four years in, building and managing software that optimised the monetisation of games apps. They knew they needed to expand their offering to reach the next level — and an exit had been in their minds for three years. What they lacked was a route map.
What we found. The evaluation pointed to a channel expansion strategy: build an enterprise-based platform so the business could deal with businesses, not individuals. That was the scale potential the company actually had.
What we did. A deliberate shift away from volume selling — repositioning the firm as a significant player in the creation and support systems for computer and phone applications.
What happened. While the enterprise platform was being built, one of the world's largest technology groups approached the company and offered to buy it outright, taking the founders on as employees.
Where they are now. Completing the build would have required substantially more fundraising. The founders chose to cash in, accepting the offer roughly a year after the engagement began.
“Your advice and support was tremendous in the outcome, and although it challenged our thinking it had a very positive impact on us.”
What an owner should take from this. A clear plan creates opportunities you couldn't have envisaged when you started — and because the plan is yours, it keeps you in control when the opportunity arrives.
03
The consultancy that became a product business
The situation. A £10m IT services business, three founders, providing consultancy to banking institutions on their payment systems — helping them adopt real-time payments while keeping large legacy systems running. They had a piece of software and a process sitting outside the core consultancy, and didn't know what to do with it.
What we found. The software was capable of creating a whole new product line and new revenue streams — and it dovetailed with the core business.
What we did. A programme to build out every business aspect of the new product line, so the founders had a clear proposition for their client base. The buying decision for consultancy and for a software product are very different — the build-out treated them as such.
What happened. Two years later, one of the largest banks in the world approached the business and made a multi-million pound investment — giving the founders the opportunity to take some money off the table.
Where they are now. The partners are still active in the business — but they now own a far more saleable one. Its value no longer rests solely on intellectual capital, which is always mobile. The technology has attracted further investment since.
“Your advice has transformed our business from a boutique IT consultancy firm to one that is operating at a strategic level with some of the biggest banks in the world.”
What an owner should take from this. Your gut feel for your business is usually right — sometimes you need outside support to supply the strategy and the confidence behind your conviction. And note the shape of this story: an engagement with an exit adviser doesn't always end in an immediate exit. Sometimes it ends in a business worth exiting.