Value and market your business for sale

Target those who you think would be prepared to pay a good price for your business because:

• you're the market leader in a particular segment - a competitor might want access to your customers so they can cross-sell their products
• you may have a product that fills a gap in their product range
• they might be able to use your distribution channels to sell their product range
• they might benefit from economies of scale in areas such as purchasing, production and sales
• they might want access to your people and skills
• you can show an excellent potential for growth
• an overseas company might want to expand into the UK market

Make sure you identify every likely candidate for your business - including private individuals and investment groups. At the same time, you want to be sure that any potential purchaser is serious. Crucially, you should satisfy yourself that they would be able to afford to buy your business. Your financial advisers should be able to help you establish this. See choosing advisers when selling your business.

For more information on finding buyers, see research sources of potential buyers.