Selling a business: Avoid missed opportunities by using a Financial Planner

Sam Petts is a Chartered Financial Planner and Chairman of the Clarion Investment Committee, who works with business owners to develop bespoke and integrated plans to help them achieve their goals. Here, he explains his key advice for clients looking to sell their business.

Sam said: “Try to start planning and seeking advice early. Don’t start to think about it once you’ve already sold the business and the money is in the bank. You may have lost out on financial planning opportunities in the run-up to that.

“We work very well with other corporate advisors who work on business sales. We give our financial planning angle on aspects that they could complete before the sale is done.

“There may be some elements of restructuring that could be done before the sale is completed. So don’t leave it until the last minute, get advice early. Get a planner involved so that you don’t miss out on opportunities for tax savings and making things more efficient for yourself in the long run.

“There’s a psychological change that goes on with selling a business too, which may also need to be overcome.

“Having assisted hundreds of clients through the process, Clarion Wealth Planning identified that the decision to sell a business – and the emotional toll it takes on the owner both during and after the sale – is a surprisingly neglected area of research.

To address this, we commissioned Carter Corson Business Psychologists to research the topic.

“And now we have the robust ‘Enough Now’ study, which helps successful business owners understand and prepare for the impact of selling a business and allow professional advisors to better support them through the challenging process.

“Working in collaboration with Carter Corson shows how unique Clarion is.”

Experience true financial planning at our cost: contact Sam Petts to book a free initial consultation meeting at spetts@clarionwealth.co.uk which is backed by our Clarion Guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with the value of the service you have received after the fourth meeting, when you receive your written financial plan, we will waive all fees.