Owner's guide
How to sell your company when there's no successor
If you're approaching retirement and nobody will carry on, this guide helps you get your ideas in order: when to start, what to prepare, what options you have and what to ask before deciding.
1. When to start thinking about succession
Ideally, start before you're in a hurry. Thinking about succession early lets you choose instead of react.
You don't need to have decided to sell to start finding out. Many conversations begin with a simple question: what will happen to everything I've built?
2. Be clear about what matters to you
Before discussing terms, it helps to be clear about what you expect from the next chapter. These questions help:
- What do you want to happen to the team?
- What relationship do you want to keep with long-standing customers and suppliers?
- Would you like to support the transition or step away at closing?
- What timing fits your personal plans?
3. Prepare the company so it doesn't depend only on you
In many SMEs, much of the know-how lives in the owner's head. The better organised it is, the easier it will be for someone else to carry on.
- Document the day-to-day: processes, key suppliers, main customers.
- Identify the people on the team who hold the know-how.
- Organise financial and contractual information with your usual adviser.
- Think about which relationships depend on you and how they could be passed on.
4. Know your options
When there's no family succession, the three most common paths are: someone on the team takes over, selling to an outside buyer, or selling to a company that acquires it to ensure its continuity.
Each path has different implications, so we recommend involving your legal and tax advisers too.
5. What to ask anyone who wants to buy your company
It's not only about the financial deal. Ask about what will happen afterwards too:
- Who will run the company after closing?
- What are their intentions for the team?
- How do they plan to look after customers and suppliers?
- What role can I have during the transition, if I wish?
- How will terms and timing be agreed and put in writing?
6. How we work at RELEVO
RELEVO acquires viable SMEs, mainly from owners retiring without a successor, and takes responsibility for giving them a new chapter. We're not intermediaries: we are the buyers.
We work in four steps: getting to know the company, assessing viability and fit, agreeing the transition and taking on the next chapter. You don't need to find a successor yourself: we take care of leadership.