Help needed

Akos01

Hey guys, I really need some help, heres the story...

Due to current economic situation my brother has decided his to sell his business and move abroad, hes in his 60´s and hes confused. Hes paranoid that what business he does have left will go elsewhere if they learn that its for sale.
Now he would be happy to sell the business as is or as just the retail unit. He owns the building. The problem is that he has a mortgage on a second home that needs paying. To my understanding the unit is worth more than the value of the second home.

Who should we talk to?
Are there some discreet and effective methods we could use in this sale?

Southsider1

I've sent you a private message.

antoinolachtnai

I have no idea what the business is, but if you have never done this before, I would go and speak to an accountant. The way to sell the business to get the best value will probably be to a competitor. The way to sell the building is probably to get an auctioneer to value it.

The unit will be less valuable without the business in it however. But that is unavoidable. You might get a nasty surprise regarding the value of the unit. Vacant units are not exactly hopping off the shelves at the moment. If it is a good stand, a competitor may be willing to take it over.

There may be serious legal issues if your relative is not healthy enough to make sound decisions about selling the business. You need to talk to a professional adviser fully and frankly about this. It may be a good idea to sort this out as quickly as possible now, before your relative deteriorates further.

You also need to consider issues around the staff that are there. Again, there could be a nasty surprise if they've been there for a while. I know of a firm in Dublin where the elderly owner has decided never to let go his equally elderly staff, because he cannot afford the redundancy payment. He says that if he dies first, they win. If they quit or die first, he wins.

I am sorry to hear about your situation and hope everything works out ok. You need too talk to the accountant.

macbrada

Selling to a competitor is may be the best avenue to pursue depending on the Market he operates in.

If so, employ the services of an auditor / accountant (N.B not your current one)

They can approach competitors stating that a rival of theirs may wish to exit the Market. They will not say who you are or enter into any talks without entering into a confidentiality agreement. Depending on the size of the Market, you may get more than one expression of interest and thus command a better price..You can advise this accountant on a few attractive facts of the business to get competitor interested but nothing specific enough to let em identify you

Best of luck!

antoinolachtnai

I would suggest keeping open mind on engaging current accountant. He will be in the best position to accept instructions from the owner. This will keep costs down because he already knows the business. But it really depends on the personalities.

macbrada

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I would suggest keeping open mind on engaging current accountant. He will be in the best position to accept instructions from the owner. This will keep costs down because he already knows the business. But it really depends on the personalities.

You will need your own accountant if a genuine offer is made and due diligence undertaken.. Bad idea to use him when approaching potential buyers as they can look up your financial statements on CRO and identify you immediately as the company for sale......I.e it's no longer a secret that your company is for sale and it devalues possibly immediately!