Professionals who can help.

Paying professionals may seem a bit costly when selling your business, but in the long run they will ensure you get the best price with as little fuss as possible. They are also useful for ensuring you stay within the law and that your tax commitments are kept to a minimum. Here are a few types professionals who could help to sell a business.

• Business transfer agents (Business Brokers) are experienced in selling businesses and they are familiar with most legislation regarding the transfer process. But they are likely to charge you a fee for selling your business, which is normally between 5% and 10% of the eventual selling price, which can be quite high in some types of businesses.
• Solicitors offer a wealth of advice about how to keep within the law while selling your business and the relevant process involved. Try to find a Solicitor who specialises in business sales and purchases because the information you receive is likely to be more accurate. Solicitors can be quite expensive but the advice you receive ensures you are never caught wrong footed in terms of legal issues.
• Accountants can also provide lots of assistance when selling a business. Most accountants are able to provide you with a rough value of what your business is worth. Accountants however have no experience in your industry. So get a second opinion from an experienced valuation agent.
• Business Valuation Agents are specialists and can prove to be invaluable in reaching a selling price which is a fair reflection of what your business is worth. They charge any ware from £250 - £500 to compile a valuation and if you pick a specialist in your industry or area, your valuation is likely to be a very accurate idea of what your business is worth.

Its worth pointing out that most of the information you require to value and sell your business is available on the internet and in books these days. If you are willing to work a bit harder you can eliminate the need for some of these professionals and for potentially spending several thousands of pounds in fees.