Services: Process mapping · Business valuation · Discounted cash flow analysis · Exit strategy · Buyer identification
The problem: an exit with no obvious value
This business had served its owners well as a lifestyle venture, but it had no significant balance-sheet value and had produced only minimal profits. The owners were ready to move on. What they didn’t know was how to extract a meaningful return before they did.
Without a clear path forward, they were heading for a simple closure and walking away with very little.
What Ascentis found
We started with process mapping to understand the income streams in detail. That process uncovered something the owners hadn’t fully appreciated: an ongoing relationship with a high-value customer, underpinned by contracts that were hard to replicate. The value wasn’t on the balance sheet it was in those relationships.
How we structured the exit
Transferring the contracts directly to a new owner wasn’t straightforward. The most effective way to preserve their value was through a share purchase. Keeping the contracts inside the business structure and providing a more tax-efficient exit for the owners.
We conducted a discounted cash flow analysis to project the Net Present Value of those high-value contracts on a gross profit basis. That gave us a number to take to market. We then identified a strategic buyer who could leverage the existing structure.
The result
- An offer exceeding £250,000, where the owners had expected minimal return
- An optimised exit strategy that maximised the value of assets they hadn’t recognised
A business that looked like it had nothing to sell turned out to have something significant, it just needed someone to find it.