The founder of an established eCommerce brand had decided it was time to sell.

The business had been an early mover in the online stoicism market, building its position before the category became crowded. It sold directly to consumers, as well as through marketplaces including Amazon and eBay.

But the market had changed.

Competition had intensified, Chinese copycat products were putting pressure on the brand, and the founder was ready to move on.

The business was ultimately sold for a low six-figure sum — approximately twice the valuation the founder had initially expected.

Our role was to make sure the financial information stood up to scrutiny and presented the business as clearly as possible.

Preparing the business for sale

Before the business could be marketed properly, the accounts needed to be reviewed and tidied.

We worked through the underlying financial information, checked the accuracy of the numbers and broke the performance down to the level of detail required by the broker and prospective buyers.

This was not simply a case of exporting a profit and loss report.

Buyers needed to understand how the business made money, how its sales channels performed and what the numbers said about the company’s history and future potential.

We therefore prepared a clear and presentable financial data pack that could support the sale process.

This included:

  • Reviewing and cleaning the underlying accounts.
  • Breaking down revenue and performance across the relevant sales channels.
  • Preparing the financial information in the broker’s required format.
  • Supporting the broker and buyer throughout financial due diligence.
  • Providing evidence and context where figures were likely to be challenged.
  • Helping ensure the numbers told a clear, accurate and credible story.

Managing the due diligence process

A large part of exit preparation is not just producing numbers.

It is anticipating the questions those numbers will create.

Where there were potential challenges, we made sure the relevant facts were available and that the position could be explained clearly. This allowed the broker and founder to respond confidently during due diligence rather than scrambling for information each time a buyer raised a query.

The goal was not to dress the business up as something it was not.

It was to make sure the buyer could see the genuine value of the business without that value being obscured by unclear reporting, inconsistent presentation or unanswered questions.

The outcome

The transaction completed successfully.

The business sold for approximately twice the amount the founder had originally expected.

It would be wrong to attribute the final sale price to one part of the process alone. The brand had real history, an established market position and underlying commercial value.

However, presenting the financial information clearly gave the broker and prospective buyers a stronger basis on which to assess that value.

The accounts were clean, the information was organised, and the story behind the numbers could be understood and defended.

That helped create confidence throughout the process and supported a much stronger outcome for the founder.

The wider lesson

A business can have a strong brand, loyal customers and years of trading history, but buyers will still assess it through the quality of its financial information.

Good exit preparation is not about making the numbers look better.

It is about making the value of the business easier to see.

When the accounts are accurate, the supporting information is readily available and the financial story is presented properly, buyers can make decisions with greater confidence.

And, in this case, that confidence contributed to an exit well above the founder’s original expectations.