Selling to a permanent owner

Who will own my business in five years? A fund must answer “someone else”; its life is fixed and its returns are made on sale. The Group answers “the Group”. It has no fund life, no carried-interest clock, and no obligation to sell.

How did you arrive at the price? Ask for the basis. The Group prices verified trailing earnings, examined before exclusivity, and pays for growth only as it arrives through an earn-out or a rolled stake. A price built on a forecast is a price that will be renegotiated.

What happens after the letter of intent? Ask whether the terms can move. The Group’s terms are its real terms; they change only for a matter the diligence uncovers that was not disclosed, downward only, in writing, and with the reason.

How much debt will you put on my business? Ask for the lender case. The Group’s rule is that no business is borrowed against beyond what its own cash can service in a bad year; the lender is secured on the business, and the vendor’s paper ranks behind the bank and is rolled.

What happens to my people? Ask who signs the retention agreements and when. The Group confirms the second line of management with retention agreements within thirty days of completion, and tells every employee in person within forty-eight hours what has happened and what will not change.

What happens to the name? A name that has earned its standing keeps it.

What do you need from me? Candour about what is not in the accounts, the cohort and channel data that show who the customers are, and a period after completion in which the founder stays and keeps an interest in the business. That last is not a formality; it is how the price and the truth of the business stay aligned.