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Preparing a successful High-tech business for sale

The team at iBoss have a very broad range of skills and experience in both large and small businesses. As a result, we have increasingly become involved in more major business structuring and development projects, both with and without specialist partners in areas we are not qualified to cover. One very good example of the type of projects we are taking on successfully is as follows:

Project Med-Tech

Towards the end of 2021 one of the directors of iBoss was approached by a husband and wife Team, who he had known for some time, and who owned a Med-Tech company in Wales. They were considering selling their business as they are in their 70’s and genuinely wanted to retire within a two year period.

They approached the iBoss director informing him that they wanted to put the business up for sale and sent through a mandate outlining what the value they were looking to achieve and conditions thereon. Whilst the iBoss director recognised that the business was a ‘little gem’ it was going to very difficult to achieve the mandate expectations as proposed and declined the opportunity to take on the project.

However the directors were insistent that they wanted the iBoss director to help them and he agreed to re-consider if they were prepared for him to work alongside a credible corporate finance firm as he felt the company needed to review the information they currently had to hand and work to produce information that could be included in an Sales Information Memorandum that truly reflected what a gem of a business it was.

A meeting was held with the directors, the iBoss director and the proposed Corporate Finance partner. An agreement was made for iBoss to help the directors prepare the business information needed to enable the Corporate Finance company to then market the business for sale.

Fundamentally the business, being a family run entity, had not produced a level of detailed information beyond that required to produce annual accounts and for tax purposes. However, more detailed information would provide an insight into its consistent and growing profitability, investment in R&D and new product development, all of which illustrated how much more valuable the company was than one would be able to identify by just reviewing historical accounts. They have unique products with contractual recurring income from exclusive consumables and service that were key to their customers being able to operate these unique products.

Working together with the Directors and the appointed Corporate Finance partner the company is now on the market for sale and has already attracted significant interest from potential purchases in the UK , Europe and the USA

The directors at iBoss, because of their experience, appreciate that they cannot undertake all projects that come across their desks but may be able to support projects in tandem with other professionals, be they Corporate Finance, solicitors, accountants or restructuring and insolvency specialists .

If you would like to find out more about the services available from iBoss or, in fact, want to buy a successful Med-Tech company, contact John Landers on 07809 361664 or e-mail john@theiboss.co.uk.

iBOSS supporting business owners – Again!

Small business owners report the mental health impact of the pandemic

Small business owners report mental health issues - business mentor northampton news

An article in the Daily Mirror highlighted that research carried out for Santander has found that working through the COVID-19 pandemic has led to negative mental health effects for a third of small business owners – while two in five are questioning whether they want to continue running their business. Around 40% of women reported an impact on their mental health, compared to less than a third of men.

Small Business Owners Report iBOSS Comments:

My first thought on this was how difficult these times are for all small business owners. Then I wondered how accurate the stats to be for men? Research has shown that men are more likely to be less forthcoming when admitting, what by them, can be perceived as a weakness. Admitting to being under stress can often fall into that category.

The real truth of the matter is that there’s a large amount of business owner’s male and female under a lot of stress in the current climate. There are many excellent mental health professionals out there that give direct support to helping you personally through difficult times. There are also business professionals that can step in and support you and your business by offering a fresh approach and taking some of the strain. Most business consultants have at some time in their career been through difficult periods and have felt the stress of ‘how do I get out of a difficult situation’? Those that have come through the other side will tell you they sought help in one form or another.

The trouble is a lot of people going through this stressful time only see professional help as an additional cost. The real question is at what cost will this continued stress eventually bring to yourself, your family, and your business?

Remember it’s good to talk!

For more help and advice on how you can relieve stress from your business contact phil@theiboss.co.uk

Remember if you really are suffering from mental health issues and you need extra professional support I would urge you to call the samaritans or look online at the mind website for help.

Business Mentor News: Lockdown encourages new start-ups

In the Daily Express, a report from Royal Mail suggests there was a 7% increase in new companies launched during the lockdown. The research indicates there were 315,000 company start-ups between March and July – fuelled by a boom in e-commerce businesses as consumers shifted to online shopping.

From April to June, Companies house recorded 176,000 start-ups, the highest number for any second quarter on record. The question is, how many of these companies will survive?
With the end of the furlough scheme getting closer and closer and more businesses making more and more people redundant, the new ‘entrepreneurs’ are likely to continue to rise for some time.

Get a business mentor to help your new startup

Even with the best professional advice, there is no guarantee that your ‘business dream’ will be a success. However, with good advice from experienced people such as a business mentor who have already walked that long road may help. A business mentor will give you an honest appraisal of your chance for success. They can advise whether you are seriously risking your life savings or redundancy package on an ill-fated idea. Conversely, however, your chosen professional advisor with a proper business plan in place may not only agree you have the potential beginnings of a successful business; but could show you where the cost
savings could be. That initial advice may stretch your initial investment at the critical start of your business.

Business Mentor on NLive Radio – Open for Business

We were pleased to be asked to take part in the NLive radio production on Tuesday night at 7-9pm. We spoke about how our business mentor support services help local SMEs. We also got to listen to some great music too, so Listen (or Listen Again) on www.nliveradio.com right now – or catch up with the interviews at https://anchor.fm/nliveopen4business

Business News – UK start-ups adapting to survive the crisis

In an article in Business Money Richard Bearman, managing director of Start Up Loans, commented: “I am in awe at the determination and creativity of small business owners across the UK, who have not only survived COVID-19 thus far but have actively capitalised on the new trends it has created by always staying one step ahead of the curb.

iBOSS Comment:

What should also be highlighted is that many of those start-ups sought professional business advice before taking the plunge. Many quickly realise that if they are to have any chance of a sustainable venture, they need a Business Plan. A good business consultant can clearly help you here because they probably have not only been through this themselves but have already assisted many businesses to get off on a firm footing. Look at it this way, would you run headlong through a dark tunnel not knowing what is in front or even to the side of you. You would want to be sure what lies ahead and do I genuinely believe it is a risk worth taking to reach the other side.

Call us today for your business advice

Business News: SMEs detail pandemic impact

The Daily Telegraph recently reported that a poll of UK alumni of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses programme shows that 99% believe they will survive the coronavirus crisis, assuming there are no other national lockdowns. The poll saw 64% say revenue had decreased, while 44% had reduced headcount and 75% had used the furlough scheme. Statistics show that 45% of firms have changed their business model due to the pandemic, with three quarters expecting this to be a permanent change.

iBOSS Business News Comment:

It seems to me that with large swathes of the country in practically Lockdown 2 these figures are only likely to increase even further. It seems clear to me that now more than ever, SME’s need to be seeking professional business advice from as many sources as possible. There is no silver bullet to the current situation, and this is still going to be a long-term problem for the vast majority of us. Even business consultants with a successful track record of helping businesses cannot wave a magic wand. Still, they may very well give you fresh ideas, an alternative business plan or business strategy as you advance. They may also help you look for ways to raise some additional business finance. An initial consultation is often free.

If you need business advice call us today

FREE BUSINESS ADVICE – ‘it’s good to talk.’

Small business success report shows ‘it’s good to talk’

iBOSS loves to give free business advice to all our clients. This is our advice today!

A report in Business and Money highlighted that Allica Bank had commissioned a new study, the SME Guide to Success, revealing that SMEs’ prospects of success depend to a large extent on engagement and interaction with external institutions and resources. Chris Weller, chief commercial officer at the business lender, remarked: “In the UK there is a wealth of external advice and support for small businesses and we urge every company out there to tap into the external resources around them.”

iBOSS free business advice Comment:

There is no doubt that business networking groups like The Business Community and Collaborate as an example in the East Midlands region, are a rich source of information. These Groups help to promote business whilst also giving tremendous support to each other. These groups often have professional business advisors who can also provide direct help to new business start-ups or established companies that in these difficult times may very well need a fresh approach or are even considering remodelling of their business. Although business owners may have excelled in their given industry, they still in these unprecedented times may need a business review on how to maintain or better still, increase business profit.

Nearly a fifth of small businesses would not survive the second lockdown

Articles in the Mail, Express and the Times have all highlighted that a survey by insurance group Simply Business revealed that 17% of small businesses believe they would not survive a new lockdown. Not only that a total of 62% said they were less confident about their company’s long-term outlook. A meagre 5% of respondents think they would cope better.
If a company genuinely believes their business is really struggling, then one suspects that they must be already making plans to shelter their business through the storm. If not it maybe already too late.
In the particular case of SME’s battening down the hatches can often mean not spending any money on good advice or marketing. In the first instance the cost of good advice may very well end up saving you thousands or even your company and in the second if you don’t continue to market your business prudently your customers may very well already think you no longer are around!

Cyber Security and Working from Home

Dolly Parton sang about “Working 9-5” and for many office workers, this described their work week perfectly. Then COVID happened and working hours have become a lot more blurred.
Aside from the human implications of life and work becoming blurred, the Cyber Security implications can be dire. We have not only moved away from our office desks but also our office networks. Networks that are secured with firewalls, intrusions prevention systems and web filters.

We, of course, have VPN (Virtual Private Network) systems but many of them do not provide the same level of protection as our office networks.
This has pushed many companies to a more cloud based model and are utilising products such as Azure and AWS. This is definitely the way to go but does come with its own set of security challenges.

Here at iBoss, our consultants not only understand on premise considerations, but also which cloud implementation could be best for you, be that SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) or something in between. Not only that, we can help you make sure that you are safe.

Call us today for more information about how to secure your home in the virtual sense 🙂

New SME grant scheme launches this month

This week I sat in on a network meeting where Ruth Cozens from SEMLEP – South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership gave us an excellent update regarding a new grant-funding scheme. It launches this month to help SMEs recover from the impact of COVID-19. The £20m fund, will distribute grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 and will be administered by growth hubs led by Local Enterprise Partnerships. Understandably there will be huge interest and demand from SME’s. £20m does not go a long way these days!
At iBOSS we help SME’s the best way to start a business, turnaround a business or grow your business during difficult times.