The exit is five years away. The buyer will read the last three.

Business value is assessed on a trailing record rather than a plan, which means the window a buyer will eventually examine has, in most cases, already opened.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The exit is five years away. The buyer will read the last three.

Owners tend to treat a sale as a future event with a preparation phase attached to the front of it. The intention is reasonable: identify the year, spend the twelve months before it tidying the numbers, then go to market. The difficulty is that a buyer does not value the twelve months of tidying. A buyer values a trailing record, and forms a view of risk from everything that record reveals about how the business actually runs. On a five year horizon, the years that will be read most closely…

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Important: General information only. Rialto Bridge articles describe patterns and considerations that may apply to a business; they are not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice, and they take no account of your particular circumstances. Consider your own situation and seek advice from a qualified professional before acting.

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