Free download · 20 cheat sheets
Selling your business? Know what the buyer knows.
20 plain-English cheat sheets on selling a UK business, from first thoughts to completion day. Written by a solicitor who does these deals, not a salesman who talks about them.
One email. Twenty sheets. No cost, no jargon, no sales call unless you ask.
What's inside
Everything an owner-manager needs to sell well
Why owners really sell, how to prepare, what your business is worth, how to find a buyer, heads of terms, deal structure, share sale versus asset sale, warranties and disclosure, completion day, the tax, and life after the sale. Twenty sheets, one download.
Why this, and why free
Most guidance on selling a business is written to sell you something.
This is written by a commercial solicitor who spends his days on the legal mechanics of SME deals: the warranties, the disclosure, the structure, where sellers lose money and where they get caught out. The toolkit is free because the best marketing a solicitor can do is be useful.
Why owners leave money on the table
Three reasons owners lose value
Buyers chip the price
An unsigned contract, a messy cap table, a customer with no written agreement: each becomes a discount. The toolkit shows you what to fix first.
Deal terms drift
Earn-outs stretch, warranty caps rise, indemnities widen. Know which eight terms actually move value before you negotiate.
Liability follows you home
Personal warranties, uncapped tax indemnities, long covenants. The sale completes but the risk doesn't leave. Learn how to limit it.
Who it's for
UK business owners and owner-managers thinking about selling, whether that's in 5 years or you've already had an approach. Especially useful for businesses around £1m-£20m turnover.
All 20 sheets
Sheet 1
Why owners really sell (beyond money)
Why owners decide it's time to move on
Sheet 2
Signals your business is becoming sellable
Worth building even if you never sell
Sheet 3
The two-year exit runway
What to fix before going to market
Sheet 4
The seller's data room
What to organise before buyers start asking
Sheet 5
The stages of a UK business sale
From first contact to completion day
Sheet 6
Heads of Terms: the anatomy
What HOTs really cover, and which parts bind you
Sheet 7
Understanding deal structure
Cash, earn-outs and everything in between
Sheet 8
Share sale vs asset sale
The biggest legal decision in your exit
Sheet 9
The seller's negotiation map
The terms that really move value
Sheet 10
Deal killers
Why business sales collapse before completion
Sheet 11
The disclosure letter explained
The document that protects you after the sale
Sheet 12
Warranties vs indemnities
A seller's guide to limiting liability
Sheet 13
Completion day
What actually happens when you sell
Sheet 14
How earn-outs really work
And why they often cause pain
Sheet 15
Restrictive covenants
What a buyer can hold you to after the sale
Sheet 16
The tax shape of your exit
BADR, structure and timing (take advice on all of it)
Sheet 17
Alternatives to selling
When a sale isn't the answer (yet)
Sheet 18
TUPE and your team
What happens to employees when you sell
Sheet 19
How businesses are really valued
Multiples, methods and what actually decides the price
Sheet 20
Life after the sale
What's next when the business is no longer yours
Twenty sheets. One download. Zero jargon.
Want a score, not just sheets? Take the free 12-question Exit Readiness Scorecard.
Led by Steven Mather, Solicitor, ranked among the UK's top lawyers on LinkedIn in Q1 2026. Legal services delivered through Nexa Law, regulated by the SRA.