The Exit Toolkit · Sheet 5 of 20
The stages of a UK business sale
From first contact to completion day
1. Preparation
Get the business ready: records, contracts, figures. Decide your objectives and take early advice on value and structure.
2. Finding a buyer
Approach competitors, suppliers, management or investors, usually through a broker or corporate finance advisor to keep things confidential.
3. NDA
Before any confidential information changes hands, get a Non-Disclosure Agreement signed. No NDA, no information.
4. Offers and Heads of Terms
Weigh up offers, then record the headline deal in Heads of Terms. Mostly not legally binding, but exclusivity and confidentiality usually are.
5. Due diligence
The buyer and their advisors investigate everything: financial, legal, tax, operational. Your job is transparency and speed.
6. The contract (SPA or APA)
The sale agreement is negotiated: price, warranties, indemnities, restrictions. Expect several drafts. You give disclosures against the warranties.
7. Completion
Documents signed, money paid, ownership transfers. Then handover, filings, informing staff and customers, and paying the tax.
Bottom line
Typical time on the market is around 6 to 8 months, and the legal process itself commonly takes 2 to 4 months once terms are agreed. Preparation is what shortens it.
General information only, not legal advice. Steven Mather Solicitor is a trading name of Kesters Nook Limited; legal work is carried out through Nexa Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the SRA (number 633024).