Intending to sell your business? Then make sure the plan remains a closely-guarded secret, known only by those who absolutely need to.
Of course, eventually the sale will become common knowledge. But there are some important reasons why it must be kept on the downlow until the correct time has arrived for disclosure.
The key stakeholders who must not find out before it is necessary are your workforce, customers, suppliers and rival firms.
But in choosing Knightsbridge commercial as your adviser, there is no need to worry because we apply complete discretion throughout the sale process, always protecting your best interests and going above and beyond the industry standard to ensure full confidentiality is maintained.
With confidentiality being very much a cornerstone of our service, our processes are designed and proven to prevent leaks occurring. All our employees are fully trained in every aspect of the required confidentiality procedures and full discretion is assured – from the very first conversation to the completion of the sale.
What measures do Knightsbridge take to ensure confidentiality?
With a business sale depending equally on each side of the deal, it is vitally important the potential buyer takes confidentiality every bit as seriously as the company they are looking to acquire.
That can entail the buyer signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) – a legally binding document which means they must adhere to strict criteria regarding any confidential information relating to your business.
Confidential information can relate to financial details, trading name, location, customer information and supplier information.
The agreement forbids the potential buyer to disclose, share or make the information available to any other party and it must be used solely to evaluate the opportunity.
What levels of confidentiality do Knightsbridge apply?
In the early stages of your sale process, we will recommend which level of confidentiality is best suited to your business based on your objectives and how niche your sector is. You may change the confidentiality level at any time.
The three levels are:
Discreet: This is the most comprehensive level of marketing, utilising every advertising avenue we have available and involves us sending the business details as soon as we have established an enquiry has come from a credible buyer.
Although this would be considered our most ‘lenient’ approach to confidentiality, it provides valuable exposure for businesses in a position to utilise this option and ensures maximum enquiry levels. This option is particularly suited to clients who are keen to sell quickly.
Confidential: With this approach, confidentiality is assured by insisting all potential buyers sign an NDA before any specific information is released, maintaining privacy throughout the process.
Our experienced negotiators will make an informed decision about whether we feel a potential buyer is suitable for your business and whether further information should be released to them.
Strict confidentiality standards are always adhered to in order to protect your best interests and those of your business and its stakeholders.
Highly confidential: Just like the ‘confidential’ level, this option ensures all interested parties sign a non-disclosure agreement but differs in that you are asked to approve each individual buyer, and prospective purchasers will not receive any sensitive or confidential information unless you expressly authorise Knightsbridge commercial to provide it.
If you would like help with any aspect of selling your business, call 44 (0)1204 227 661 for a confidential chat with one of our advisers.