Thinking about a sale
In the next one to five years, and wanting to go into it prepared.
LEITH VALUE ACCELERATOR™
The best time to prepare
for a sale, is now.
A programme for owners one to five years from an exit, that assesses your business the way a buyer would. You come away sale ready, worth more, and holding the data room a buyer will ask for.
WHY PREPARATION MATTERS
Most owners decide to sell, then prepare. It works far better the other way round.
Buyers can view two similar businesses in very different ways. The difference is how they read them: how dependent they are on the owner, how clean the numbers are, how secure the customers and contracts look.
Most of that is within your control, but much of it cannot be fixed once a deal is running. Owners who start late tend to get a lower price, a slower deal, and more of their money deferred on someone else’s terms.
THE VALUE GAP
UK mid-market businesses typically sell for three to seven times their profit. Here are two businesses, each making £1m.
WHO IT IS FOR
You don’t need to have
decided to sell.
Ready to sell
Decided, but wanting to go to market in the strongest position possible.
Building value
Wanting a more valuable, better-run business, whatever you decide to do with it.
If you come to sell, you’re ready. If you don’t, you have a stronger business and a clear view of your options.
WHAT WE COVER
Six modules, built around
what a buyer examines.
Five areas a buyer’s advisers put under the microscope, and the sale process itself.
-
Business & Commercial
Your revenue quality, and how a buyer reads it.
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Finance & Systems
Whether the numbers stand up.
-
Legal
The contracts and rights the business rests on.
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HR & People
Whether it runs without you.
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Corporate
The legal record and share structure.
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The Sale Process
How a sale actually runs, end to end.
HOW IT RUNS
One module a month,
over six months.
EVERY MODULE FOLLOWS THE SAME THREE STEPS
-
Learn
What a buyer looks at, and what good and weak look like, brought to life in a session with us.
-
Discover
Guided work between sessions, answering the questions a buyer will ask and building your data room.
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Results & Actions
Where you score, what it’s worth, and a ranked list of what to do next.
THE OUTCOMES
What you
come away with.
Sale-ready.
A business that stands up to a buyer’s questions, and a clear understanding of how a sale runs.
Worth more.
A view of what you’re worth today, what you could be worth, and a plan to close the gap.
Your data room.
The documents a buyer’s advisers will ask for, organised while there’s no deadline.
And if you go on to sell with us, the full cost of the programme is credited against your transaction fees.
Premier Fire SecuritySold to a trade buyer
“Selling my business was a daunting task, but the hardest part was the unknowns. You don't know what a buyer will ask, or what they think your weak points are. These are exactly the areas I'd suggest any owner works through, and this programme covers every one of them.”
Paul Robins
Premier Fire Security, sold by Leith M&A
OUR PEOPLE
Meet the team
David Nelson
Managing Director
Email David
Managing Director
David Nelson
I’ve led UK mid-market M&A transactions for over two decades, and founded Leith M&A to deliver exceptional results with meticulous attention to detail and genuine care for every client. My most important role in the process is listening: understanding your concerns, your aspirations and the essence of your business.
Email DavidSophie Nelson
Director · Co-founder
Email Sophie
Director · Co-founder
Sophie Nelson
We founded Leith M&A to give a small number of clients a knowledgeable, friendly and truly bespoke service. I produce the sales documents that take your company to market and head up our brilliant research team. We are straight talking, friendly, and nothing but tenacious in our approach.
Email SophieJames Wakefield
Director
Email James
Director
James Wakefield
I’ve spent over 25 years building, leading and transforming businesses across sectors and geographies, guided by a Sandhurst-trained leadership ethos. Whether a company is new to a sale process or needs to make changes before going to market, my goal is always the same: clear, grounded, actionable guidance.
Email JamesJohn Clifton
Director
Email John
Director
John Clifton
I sold my own business through Leith M&A, and joined the firm as a director afterwards. I know the process from the owner’s side of the table, and I bring that understanding to every client I work with, from the first conversation through to completion.
Email JohnLiz Armstrong
Senior Researcher
Email Liz
Senior Researcher
Liz Armstrong
I’ve been with Leith M&A since it was founded. Our research team identifies and approaches the agreed list of potential buyers for every client, then puts the confidentiality agreements in place to protect them. We send regular updates throughout, and become an extension of our clients’ teams.
Email LizLisa Vincent
Researcher
Email Lisa
Researcher
Lisa Vincent
I’ve supported the firm’s transaction and advisory work since 2021, providing market and industry analysis, target company profiling and data support throughout the M&A process. I pride myself on the care and attention to detail that make a tangible difference to our clients’ outcomes.
Email Lisa
PROGRAMME OVERVIEW · PDF
The full programme,
in one document.
Every module, how the programme runs, and what you come away with.
Download the overview
SALE READINESS SCORECARD
How ready is
your business to sell?
21 questions, two or three minutes. An honest read on where your business stands against the things a buyer examines.
Take the scorecardEVERY NEXT CHAPTER STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION