Phase 2 · Strategy & Planning · From Idea to Executable Plan
Sell-Side Preparation & Advisory
The business that prepares for sale before it is for sale gets a better price, a cleaner process, and a faster completion than the one that starts preparation when the buyer is already in the room.
Sell-side preparation and advisory is the structured preparation of a business for sale — addressing the issues that would emerge in due diligence, improving the financial metrics that buyers use to value the business, presenting the management team, the commercial pipeline, and the growth story in their most compelling form, and running the sale process in a way that creates competition and protects the seller's negotiating position.
The Pain We Solve
You may recognise yourself in one of these.
Three audience scenarios · because the same service produces a different transformation depending on where you are in the business journey.
Scenario 1
The founder who wants to sell in the next two to three years and wants to understand what preparation is needed to maximise the value and the ease of the process
The business is performing well. The owner wants to exit within a defined timeframe. Nobody has told them what a buyer will look for, what the gaps in the business's current position are, and what actions taken now would increase the price achieved and reduce the complexity of the process.
Scenario 2
The business that has been approached by an unsolicited buyer and wants to understand whether to engage and how to manage the process
A strategic buyer has made an approach. The owner has not previously considered a sale. They do not know whether the approach represents a fair value, whether they should engage or create competitive tension, or how to manage a process that the buyer is experienced in and they are not.
Scenario 3
The founder who has been through a sale process that did not complete and wants to understand why and how to prepare differently
The sale process failed — at due diligence, at price, or at the final negotiation. The founder does not know whether the failure reflects the business's fundamental value, the process management, or the preparation. The understanding that would make the next attempt more likely to succeed has not been developed.
The Impact It Creates
The Moment You Will Feel the Difference.
Business prepared for sale — issues addressed before buyers find them in due diligence
Value maximised through improved metrics, story, and process management
Sale process managed to create competition and protect the seller's negotiating position
Completion achieved efficiently because the preparation reduced the due diligence friction
What You Receive
The Specific Deliverables.
Tangible outputs · documented, dated, and yours to keep.
- Sale readiness assessment — what buyers will look for and where the gaps are
- Value enhancement plan — what to address before going to market
- Information Memorandum preparation
- Buyer identification and approach strategy
- Data room preparation and management
- Deal negotiation support and completion management
The Outcome
Where You Will Be on the Other Side.
The business achieves the sale it was worth — not a discounted version of it — because the preparation addressed the issues, the story was compelling, and the process was managed to maximise competitive tension and minimise the friction that incomplete preparation creates.
Primary Focus
Preparing a business for sale and managing the sale process to maximise value through issue resolution, compelling presentation, and competitive tension.
KPI Measurement
- Sale price achieved vs initial valuation
- Due diligence issues discovered vs prepared-for issues
- Time from process launch to completion
- Number of buyers engaged in process
- Completion success rate vs previous attempt
Investment & ROI
Pricing Engineered Around the Value You Create.
Every engagement is sized against the value we believe we can create with you · the fee is always a fraction of the outcome. Four tiers · so the investment matches your stage of business.
Tier 1
Foundations
£5,000 – £15,000
Right for
Pre-startup, startup, and micro-business founders ready to build on evidence rather than instinct.
Typical Value Created
£100K+ in sharper resource allocation and avoided strategic missteps
Engagement
4 – 8 weeks
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Tier 2
Acceleration
£15,000 – £50,000
Right for
Growing SMEs and established small businesses ready to scale a working model into the next revenue band.
Typical Value Created
£500K – £3M in faster execution and pipeline acceleration
Engagement
8 – 16 weeks
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Tier 3
Transformation
£50,000 – £250,000
Right for
Medium enterprises and scale-stage businesses ready to commit to a multi-quarter, organisation-wide shift.
Typical Value Created
£2M – £20M in strategic value through repositioning, model redesign, and growth-system installation
Engagement
3 – 9 months
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Tier 4
Enterprise
£250,000 – £2M+
Right for
Large enterprises, global operators, and complex organisations ready for a multi-year strategic partnership.
Typical Value Created
£10M+ in major strategic initiatives, capital deployment efficiency, and competitive repositioning
Engagement
12 months and onward
Target Return
5 – 10× ROI
within 12 – 18 months
Why We Price This Way
Every engagement is sized around the value we believe we can create with you. The fee is always a fraction of the outcome · typically 10 – 20% of the expected first-year return.
This is how we make sure pricing aligns with results. The conversation is never “what does this cost?” · it is always “what is this worth to your business?” We answer that together in the first call, transparently, and decide the right tier from there.
If we cannot articulate a credible 5–10× return for your specific situation, we will tell you in the first call. That honesty is part of why our clients trust us with the work that matters most.
Why This Conversation Matters
“The seller who is prepared is the seller who controls the process. The seller who is unprepared hands that control to the buyer. We prepare the business for sale so the founder arrives at the deal table with the confidence of someone who knows what they are selling and why it is worth what they are asking.”
A 90-minute structured strategy session · produces a usable roadmap whether you engage further or not.
More in Phase 2