Successful Exit Strategy planning Event, Oxford 10th May 2012

Your exit strategy should be one of the most important goals for building your wealth and a successful future for your business.

But why should you have an exit strategy?

• Planning your exit strategy at least 3 years in advance of your planned departure can give you the opportunity to mould the business in the way you want in order to maximise the value of your business sale.
• The entire value of the business can increase by 50% with a well executed exit strategy. The value of the business will be greatly affected if you do not have an exit strategy in place.
• An exit plan helps groom your successors to continue the vision of the business, whether they are chosen from within the management team or the family.
• '74% of entrepreneurs in the UK risk long-term business success by not giving proper thought to their exit strategies' Deloitte Entrepreneurship: UK 2008

As an owner manager, deciding and planning an appropriate exit for your business is a big decision with many variables to consider.

To help you develop an exit strategy and prepare your business for a sale, CMC Partners with Cresco Legal and Avondale is running a FREE seminar on 10^th May at Oxford Science Park. This is an opportunity to gain advice from the experts, ask questions relevant to your company and hear real life examples of how to plan a successful exit.

For more information and to book please click here

Would you like to sell your business but unsure how to go about it?

Selling your business is likely to be the largest and most important financial deal you will ever make. Like many people you may find selling the business you've spent years building up emotionally difficult; unless you've sold a business before you will have no experience to draw on and won't know what to expect.

You can only sell your business if someone is prepared to pay for it. If you've run the business for many years, you may be unaware of how much you have stamped your individual personality and style on it. When you sell a house after many years, you may find potential purchasers don't like your décor, and that you need to redecorate in neutral colours to attract a buyer. In the same way, you'll find that potential buyers of your business will look for certain attributes which may not be present, and that you may have to install these to complete a successful sale.

There is much preparation and many processes in selling your business but where do you start?

We suggest that you attend a FREE EVENT that we are running in conjunction with Cresco Legal Solicitors and Avondale on 26^th April at Oxford Science Park. This event will give you an understanding of the sale process and show you how a skillful handling of the exit transaction can make all the difference to your future.

Click here for more information and to book

Succession planning- the key to safeguarding your family firm’s future

Succession planning for any business is vital to increase your chance of success and secure a good price for the business you have worked so hard to build. For family businesses, planning for your succession is equally important and cannot be left to fate if you want to continue the businesses success. This may seem obvious but unfortunately many family businesses do not plan and do leave it chance, contributing to the disappointing family survival statistics. In fact, 53% of family businesses who anticipate a chance of ownership within the next 5 years have NOT drafted a succession plan (PricewaterhouseCoopers Family business Survey)

The Institute of Directors (IOD) has written a very interesting article, interviewing four owners of successful businesses who appreciate the value and importance of succession planning to safeguard their family’s firm. Click here to read to the interviews with inspiring owners of a food ingredients business, construction/shop fitting business, brewery and food group.

Throughout these interviews, there are some key themes on succession planning which have been highlighted in the list below:

• Successful planning takes years – don't leave it too late.
• Define the strategic vision and values of the business before anything else.
• Talk to the upcoming generation about their aspirations.
• Enlist the help of key non-family members.
• Make rules on how the next generation can join and what is expected of them.
• Agree the age of retirement and how it is to be funded. Ensure all pension provisions are kept separate from the business.
• Look at establishing a family constitution and family council.
• Keep family members not working for the company as engaged as possible.
• When picking a successor, family firms should not expect to get it right every time.

(IOD, Director Magazine, February 2012)

Of course, you may know the above already but putting it into practice is another challenge that you find hard to fit in around the daily running of your business. CMC can help with this. CMC has guided many family businesses through succession over the last 20 years. We can work with you and your family to develop and effectively plan to safeguard your family firm’s future.

Click here for CMC Partners Family Succession Top Tips

Growth boost for UK Manufacturing companies

The recent UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) confirms what we are experiencing with our manufacturing clients – increase in output, increase in new orders and growth expansion plans into worldwide markets.

The UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has risen to 52.1 in January; this is a 2.4% increase since December and the highest level in the last eight months. Not only does the survey show output rising at a fast rate but also orders grew for the first time in seven months too. Foreign demand also rose for the second month running in January with improved order inflows from clients in Brazil, China, the Middle East and the US.

This is very encouraging for the manufacturing sector and hopefully should give a boost of confidence that our economy is improving and that a future recession is not imminent.

Click here to read how CMC has helped a manufacturing company doubled their monthly sales in 18 months.