Thinking about selling your hospitality business?

You (understandably) may have a few things that you are not quite sure of, or have concerns about. Speak to one of our experienced hospitality specialist brokers; they are there to assist you. One of the most common concerns Vendors have is “I don’t want anybody to know that I am selling, it would be very unsettling to the staff.   I wouldn’t want my customers to know either.” This is by far the most common concern for sellers. Professional Business brokers are very aware of the confidentiality issues around the sale of any business, and they take this very seriously. When the business is marketed generally only generic photos are used in the advertising. When potential buyers inquire on a business, they will only be given very basic information until such time as the broker receives their completed confidentiality agreement. In most instances prospective buyers will only be given very vague details on the locality. – Until their bona fides are confirmed. How can we maintain confidentiality when buyers start visiting business? Brokers have a number of different strategies that they can employ when purchasers start looking at businesses and want to conduct inspections. All buyers are reminded of their obligations under the confidentiality agreement that they have made. Sometimes the broker will encourage Buyers to go to the business and have a coffee or bite to eat. The broker will remind them not to speak to the staff about the business being up for sale. It is good for potential buyers to go in independently and get a real feel for the business. The customer perspective will give them ideas on what they could do with the business, how they could expand, and how competent the staff are. Buyers are often able to formulate some ideas on how they could improve the business. Quite often the inspections of the business can occur after hours when staff are not around. If purchasers have viewed the business when it is busy from the prospective of a customer, they can then view the business in detail, right through the kitchen and storage, etc – when staff are not there. They get the best of both worlds-the customer “feel”, as well as the detail behind the scenes. These after hours meetings can also be good in that Buyers can ask detailed questions of the owner, and the owner has time to devote to them. The Business owner will not be worried about what is happening in the kitchen, or why table 10 has still not been served….. Rest assured confidentiality is paramount – and it is in the interests of both buyer and seller, that confidentiality be maintained. Jo-Anne Wilson Hospitality Specialist Business Broker