Most business owners spend a lot of time planning when starting a business. Good business owners then also put a great deal of effort into continually developing and growing their business. Unfortunately, succession planning or exiting the business is often given absolutely no thought by the majority of business owners.

All of the literature and our own client experiences have shown us that the best exit is a planned one, and in most cases, the value is maximised by an internal sale. The only exception being big corporate buyouts, which do not occur across all industries and are usually used by them as part of a state or national consolidation strategy.

The message for all business owners is clear, it is never too early to start planning for all future exit strategies. Whilst it is important to have a retirement strategy in mind, it is also essential to have a plan in case of an unexpected departure due to the ill health or worst case the unexpected death of one of the partners or one of their family members.

There are a few awful case studies around based on real-life situations where the sickness or death of one shareholder/director in business has resulted in strained relations between the other parties and in many instances legal cases and even the demise of the business. It is important to not only have a plan in place but also documenting it and where possible, insuring for it.

So, start thinking about your retirement or exit strategy and then how it would or could look if the unforeseen happened. Contact us if you need any assistance, we have got both the experience and resources to assist you.