Acquisitions and Disposals
Business acquisitions and disposals are often a very time consuming and complex process, which can be undertaken in various ways, with varying tax consequences, depending on the approach which is taken. It is vital when considering these transactions that you use professional advisers during this process to ensure you structure the deal to your best advantage and protect yourself from any unforeseen financial implications.
Acquisitions
Acquiring a new business can be a very exciting time, and it’s easy to get caught up in the vision you have for the future. At MFW, we can be your experienced advisors keeping an eye out for any potential pitfalls, whilst you focus on making your vision a reality.
We can identify and evaluate all aspects of potential acquisitions, including agreeing a strategy for how to approach the situation and considering how the acquisition may fit into any existing business interests you may have. We will consider the optimal structure for tax, finance and business structuring and can assist in the preparation of business plans and business forecasts where required.
We have experience of working alongside all other involved professionals to relieve as much of pressure from your workload and can even advise on aspects of negation with the vendor.
Disposals
When disposing of a business, you want to ensure it is left in a good position for the future, whilst maximising any potential value you can achieve. The most important thing with a business disposal is that you feel entirely comfortable with the process, and we understand that most people need hand-holding because, however long you have been running a business, you probably won’t have ever been through the process before. We ensure that you have communication and access to us throughout the process in whatever way you need. We pride ourselves in creating an efficient process between ourselves and your chosen legal advisors.
Our service is entirely tailored to your needs. We can assist from preliminary information requests from a prospective buyer right up to completion of the transaction. We will make ourselves available throughout the process including:
- Considering the structure of the deal with a prospective buyer through consultation with you and your other advisors (accountant, solicitors, consultants etc).
- Reviewing and commenting on draft Heads of Terms relating to the above discussions.
- Involvement in the financial due-diligence process.
- Review and advice in respect of the sale agreement and any supplementary agreements.
- Advising on any post-transaction requirements you may need to consider from an accounting/tax perspective.
- Preparation of any required completion accounts relating to the sale and dealing with any queries raised by the buyer’s advisors.
- Assisting with self-assessment tax returns including the sale transactions – including preparing advance calculations for the tax liabilities which will be due so that you can ring-fence those funds from the sale proceeds.
Business exit strategy
Even if it’s not your immediate goal, it’s always important to have a consideration of your eventual exit strategy from your business. Protecting the valuable asset you have nurtured over a number of years, including those who work for you, is often something that you will want to achieve when you decide to enter a different phase of your life. Whether that is passing the business down to family members, external sale or management buy-out, our experienced advisors can explain the various options, including any tax consequences, so that you can make well-informed decisions on your business’ future.
For most businesses, it’s important to keep your options open to some extent, depending on the current economic outlook, tax legislation changes and potential options with regard to succession. Even if there is no active market for your business, an exit to meet your retirement or future plans can still be achieved and our team will be on hand to keep you up to date on any options relevant for you, from business or asset sale to lesser utilised paths such as Employee Ownership Trusts.
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