By Max Fellows, Founder of allpoints
You’ve spent decades building your business, navigating the highs and lows, making the tough calls, and proving the doubters wrong. But now, you’re staring down the next big question: What’s next? You’ve got a few years left to make an impact, secure your legacy, and cash in on all that hard work. Welcome to The Last Push, the final sprint before you step back, hand over the reins, or ride off into the sunset
The Final Push Before Succession
At this stage, it’s time to start letting go of the doing and lean into the delegating. Your Senior Leadership Team (SLT) should be stepping up, running the day-to-day, and proving they can handle things without you breathing down their necks. If they can’t? Well, that’s a problem to fix fast. A business that’s too reliant on you isn’t ready for transition, and that’s going to hurt your valuation.
The Changing Exit Landscape for Ageing Entrepreneurs
If your business turns over between £3 million and £12 million, you’ve got options, plenty of them. The challenge? Picking the right one before time makes the decision for you. Here are your main plays:
- Management Buyout (MBO): Sell the business to the people who know it best, your own management team. Keeps things in-house and rewards the team that got you here.
- Full Circle Events & Exhibitions Limited and Psycho Peacock Limited: In 2024, these companies, specialising in exhibition and graphic design services, completed a management buyout with support from Panoramic Growth Equity and financing from Shawbrook. This transition enabled the management team to take control and drive the companies’ future growth.
- Clear: In December 2024, the senior leadership team of Clear, a Manchester-based live events and creative communications agency, executed a management buyout. This move ensured the agency’s continued commitment to its vision and values, positioning it for future growth and enhanced service offerings.
- Employee Ownership Trust (EOT): A trendy option, but not a quick one. You’ll need patience, but it’s a tax-efficient way to transition ownership while keeping employees invested in the future. In fact, this has become a popular route for several UK creative and events agencies:
- Brand Nation (November 2024): Founder Mary Killingsworth transitioned her creative marketing agency to an EOT, ensuring independence for the business while empowering employees to take the reins.
- 2LK (2024): Partner and executive creative director Andy Sexton embraced the EOT structure to secure the company’s long-term future and reward the team that had helped build its success.
- First Event (2024): This events agency also embraced the EOT model, ensuring long-term stability and allowing the team to benefit from the ownership structure. (fromallpoints.co.uk)
- Sell Up and Cash Out: Find a buyer, strike a deal, and walk away with a well-earned payday. The trick? Getting the right buyer who won’t strip your business for parts.
- Kantar Media: WPP sold Kantar Media to HIG Capital for $1 billion in 2024. This sale allowed WPP to divest a non-core asset and refocus on its primary advertising business, exemplifying a strategic exit to streamline operations and capitalise on market value.
- Merging with a Bigger Fish: Align with a larger company to unlock new opportunities (and a solid exit package). But be warned – culture clashes can kill a deal fast.
- Superstruct Entertainment: In 2024, U.S. private equity firm KKR acquired Superstruct Entertainment, a company owning 80 live experience events, including major music festivals across Europe, for €1.3 billion. This merger exemplifies how merging with a larger entity can provide significant growth capital and operational synergies.
- Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI): Want to keep key players motivated while planning your exit? EMI schemes help lock in top talent and make your business more attractive to buyers.
Gearing Up for the Big Exit
If you want to maximise your final years in the business and boost your exit value, here’s what needs to be on your radar:
- Diversify Your Offerings: New products, new services, new markets. The more revenue streams, the more resilient (and attractive) your business becomes.
- Think Bigger (and Global): Expanding into international markets isn’t just sexy, it’s smart. New revenue streams can add serious value to your business before you exit.
- Sort Out Your Sales Strategy: If your team is still flogging products like it’s 2010, you’re already behind. A modern, digital-first approach will attract new customers and new buyers.
- Fix Your Culture and HR: If your team’s a mess, your valuation will be too. Strong leadership development and effective HR systems facilitate a smoother transition and a stronger business.
- Consider M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions): Whether you’re buying, selling, or partnering up, M&A can unlock huge value. But it needs to be done right; don’t let excitement override strategy.
The M&A Opportunity for Ageing Entrepreneurs
If you’re even remotely considering an exit, now’s the time to act. Businesses with turnovers between £3 million and £12 million are prime M&A targets, and the right deal could set you up for a very comfortable retirement. But waiting too long? That’s a risky game. Market conditions shift, valuations change, and the wrong timing could mean leaving serious money on the table.
So… What’s the Plan?
Let’s be honest – succession planning and exit strategies aren’t exactly fun topics. But neither is missing your shot at a lucrative, well-planned exit. Whether you go down the MBO route, set up an EOT, or sell to the highest bidder, one thing’s clear: Doing nothing isn’t an option.
Want to know how M&A could work for your business? Let’s talk. Your next move could be your most important one yet.