Business sale advice

[Emptynester1967]

Hi guys. My husband and I are looking to relocate and want to sell my husband's business. He is a sole trader repairing electrical items and has been running the business for 12 years. He has over 60% repeat business and has private and public sector clients. It is really a lifestyle business as he only works mornings. Any accountants out there can give any advice on what he may be able to sell the business for? He works from home. Turnover is around £27,000 a year so not mega bucks. It would be good to get something for it after all his hard work getting and keeping clients over the years rather than just walking away. Any advice would be really appreciated!

Difficult if it's a "one man" business with no staff etc as the goodwill is personal to him. A starting point would be the current market value of his assets, such as van, tools, stock of parts etc., which is the minimum. Anything higher than that is a bonus. I've seen "one man" businesses of similar size sell for maybe £10k and plenty that havn't sold at all, not even for asset value. It's all a matter of finding someone willing to buy - there could only be 1 person or that person may have already bought/started his own business and not want to buy at all. If there's another domestic appliance repairer nearby, it may be worth approaching them to see if they want your client list and ongoing contracts (if any), to incorporate into their business.

(Though you'd have to check with your solicitor as to the legality under GDPR of giving the buyer your private customer's personal details - you may be restricted to just selling his phone number and email address so repeat customers contact the new buyer directly rather than telling your buying who your customers were!).