Unique Businesses for Sale

Axis are specialist business brokers with a wide range of unique businesses for sale throughout the UK including Suffolk, Essex, London, East Anglia, South East, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Home Counties, England, South West, North West, South East, Midlands and West Midlands.

Although the majority of the businesses we help to sell are in well known sectors such as health care, recruitment, manufacturing, logistics and more, we also have experience of finding buyers for businesses which don’t quite fit into these categories – unique businesses for sale which provide unusual or highly specialised services such as precision engineering, specialist manufacturing, or a service which uses new technology.

For instance, at the time of writing we have a number of unique businesses for sale in Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and East Anglia. They include a CCTV installation and maintenance company, a waste management company, a private dental practice, a bathroom and kitchen installation company, as well as a 17th century mansion,.

Although finding buyers for businesses for sale like these may seem like a challenge, it is often the very uniqueness or specialism of the business which is its primary strength, making these types of business very appealing to investors.

Click here to view our current selection of Unique Businesses For Sale

Alternatively register with us today to be kept informed whenever new unique businesses for sale come on to the market.

In the next section we look at the stages involved in choosing and buying a business, and look at how Axis can assist the buying process at every stage.

Choosing, Finding and Buying a Business
Buying a business involves a number of stages, each of which requires a degree of expertise and specialist knowledge to carry out successfully. Here are the four main steps:

Establish Finance
A buyer will need to establish their funding options and the overall budget available for investment. Funding can be from personal funds, cash on an existing company’s balance sheet or lending from a bank or other source.  If the purchase involves any type of debt, it is important that a firm business case is established – your lender will want to see this, and it is also in your interest to know that the debt will not threaten the acquiring company.

Choose Sector
The next stage is to choose the sector and industry of your acquisition. If you already own another company or group of companies it should either add to or complement your existing operation.  If it is your first acquisition, you need to establish your logic for choosing a particular type of company. For instance does it match an existing skill or interest, does it provide a particular lifestyle, or is it part of a bigger plan going forward? All businesses, even those which are already successful, require ongoing motivation from the owners/management to drive them forward, so it’s important to have a motivation that goes beyond simple revenue generation.

Choose Location
Next, consider the ideal geographical location for your acquisition. If it is an addition to an existing portfolio of companies, consider whether you want the business to be close to those other businesses, to make communication and transport easier, or whether your intention is to establish a presence in a new region.  If you intend to expand into a new location you need to research the target area, understand any difference in client requirements and how the operation will be ran on a daily basis (e.g. will you need to hire a manager to run the operation for you?)

Study the Market
Once you know the type of company you are looking for in terms of size, sector, cost and location, it is time to start actively monitoring the market to be on the lookout for new companies coming up for sale.

This can take up a lot of time, so one of the best ways to do this is to register with a business broker which is actively involved in your sector. Ideally, you want to do more than simply wait for companies to come up for sale. You can give yourself an edge by using a broker who will proactively seek out suitable companies.

Working with Axis Partnership – Our Service to Buyers
At Axis we act on behalf of vendors wishing to sell their businesses (vendor-initiated sale) and who pay a percentage fee upon completion.

But we can also act on behalf of buyers who are looking to expand by acquisition (buyer-initiated sale). In this case, it is the buyer who pays the fee.

There are three main benefits to buyers of using Axis to act on their behalf:
Firstly, the identity of the buyer can be kept confidential until the point that the vendor wishes to go ahead with a sale. Secondly, it ensures that all discussions are held in strictest confidence with an independent party acting to ensure discussions are fair and reasonable. Thirdly, by targeting companies which are not on the open market buyers are choosing between companies which are already successful and they also have less competition from other potential purchasers.

Here is a brief overview of the sequence of events for a buyer-initiated sale involving Axis.

1. Upon instruction by the buyer we would agree the parties or area to be targeted. This involves gathering buyer requirements and researching the company or companies involved.
2. We then contact parties on the buyer’s behalf via direct mailing and telephone. We establish whether the owners will consider selling and, if so, arrange a valuation of the business for them.
3. If the valuation is in the region that the vendors are willing to sell for, we then introduce our client and arrange meetings.
4. We then assist in negotiating the structure of any offers to ensure a ‘win win’ scenario for buyer and seller. We formalise the negotiations by drafting Heads of Terms which outlines the basis of the deal prior to solicitors being instructed.
5. Once solicitors have been instructed we remain involved throughout the legal stages. Unlike other agents we pride ourselves on nurturing the deal through to completion. The aim of our involvement is to ensure that the spirit of the deal remains and that the final deal reflects that which was originally agreed. We are also able to assist in ironing out any misunderstandings or communication problems which may crop up along the way.

To find out more click here to view our current selection of Unique Businesses For Sale or click here to register with Axis with Axis.