The short answer

Start with a clear acquisition brief and a realistic funding plan. Assess suitable opportunities, agree how information will be shared and involve independent advisors in due diligence, transaction documents and the handover before committing to a purchase.

Write a search brief you can use.

Name the industries and locations you can realistically operate in. Decide what you want your working week to look like: delivering the service yourself, managing staff or overseeing an existing management team. These choices narrow a search more usefully than a long list of businesses with similar asking prices.

  • What experience can you bring to this operation?
  • Which locations can you manage without stretching your time?
  • What investment range leaves room for running the business after closing?

Bring funding into the conversation early.

BDC recommends involving financial partners before detailed negotiations. Ask about the evidence lenders will need and discuss the full funding requirement, including working capital and transaction costs. An indicative discussion is not a loan approval.

BDC · Steps to buying a business

Be clear about who represents whom.

When contacting a broker about an opportunity, ask whether they represent the seller and what information can be shared at that stage. Do not assume that access to a listing creates an advisory relationship with you.

Prepare an introduction that explains your experience, criteria and readiness. Keep private account statements and other sensitive records out of a first website inquiry; agree an appropriate review process before supplying them.

Turn interesting claims into questions.

A description such as ‘recurring customers’ is an invitation to examine how the work repeats. Ask what comes from signed commitments, what depends on habit and who owns each relationship. If a business is described as manager-run, ask which decisions still come back to the owner.

  • What records support the earnings presented?
  • What is included in the proposed purchase?
  • What will need to change when the current owner leaves?
  • Which important assumptions remain unverified?

Review the business before completing the deal.

Use your advisors to examine financial, legal and operational information. BDC’s due-diligence checklist offers a useful starting structure, but the scope must fit the actual company. Keep an organised record of requests, evidence received, unresolved questions and who is responsible for each review.

BDC · Due-diligence checklist

Plan the first month as well as closing day.

Write down the introductions, access, training and responsibilities needed for the first weeks. Ask what the seller will do, for how long and under what agreed terms. A completed purchase does not by itself explain how payroll, dispatch, purchasing or customer service will work the next morning.

General information for people exploring a business transaction. Obtain advice suited to your business before making valuation, tax, legal or transaction decisions.