Selling your business without a broker

What selling without a broker means

You can organise a business sale yourself, but doing so does not remove the work. You need to prepare the information, decide how to advertise, answer enquiries, control confidential access and coordinate the steps with your buyer and advisers. A self-serve document product supports the paperwork. It does not become the person responsible for finding a buyer or making the commercial decisions.

The launch offer is the Sale Pack only. Its purpose is to help an owner who wants to manage the sale without broker commission. More packs are coming, but they are not part of the launch purchase. The headline is simple: sell your business without the broker’s bill. That is not a promise that every business will sell or that every sale will cost the same.

Prepare your facts before advertising

Gather annual accounts, current trading figures, lease information and an accurate staff outline. Explain how customers buy, what the owners do and why you are selling. Choose a share or asset sale only after discussing the appropriate structure with your advisers. Mark what is included and excluded. This information drives later documents, so small errors can travel a long way.

Check the financial bridge carefully. Owner pay, replacement costs, depreciation and explained adjustments are separate inputs. The indicative valuation uses confirmed figures and versioned tables. It is not a formal valuation and is not suitable for tax, lending or disputes. You decide the asking price or choose offers invited separately.

Advertise without identifying the business too soon

A blind teaser describes the opportunity without naming the business. Do not add a recognisable logo, identifying photograph, website address or precise identifying detail. Choose an enquiry address and plan who handles replies. Portal adverts and listings are arranged by you. The service has no commercial link with the portals used in the cost comparison.

Typical broker fees shown on this site are £2,500 to £10,000 plus VAT upfront, and 3% to 5% plus VAT when the sale completes. Actual terms vary. The self-sale comparison adds the Sale Pack and selected portal costs from the cost_comparison records. The six-month, three-portal example totals £1,896.60 including the supplied portal VAT assumptions. It excludes your solicitor, accountant and other transaction costs.

Handle buyers and compare offers

The paid buyer room provides a private link, enquiry details, email verification and a template NDA. Activation needs the approved NDA template. Each buyer gets a signed PDF copy of the NDA. You decide who receives access. The product never vets or ranks buyers. Ask for the information and professional checks you need rather than treating a completed form as funding approval.

Offers can be submitted through the room or entered manually if they arrived elsewhere. Compare headline price, cash at completion, deferred timing, conditions, funding evidence, exclusivity and dates. The table has neutral labels, not recommendations. A high headline price may come with conditions or deferred payments. Your advisers can help you understand the consequences of the actual terms.

Move towards completion

Marking one offer agreed in principle prepares Heads of Terms answers and the transaction checklist. Review them, then export the approved document. The SPA or APA form opens after that export, with relevant reviewed information pre-filled. The process does not sign for you or complete the sale automatically.

Keep records of what you sent, what changed and which questions remain open. Decide how to handle staff confidentiality and handover. Download your own copies before access ends. Editing lasts 12 months after payment, followed by 30 days to download saved files. The buyer room closes at the 12-month point.

Build free, pay when you are ready

The Sale Pack starts with your own answers and accounts. You check the figures, explain the business and decide what is included in the proposed sale. You can see the indicative valuation and marketing documents in a protected preview without paying. Legal documents are named in the preview contents, rather than shown as free legal drafts. Pay £495 only when you are happy, then download and use the documents. No VAT is charged. There is no broker commission.

The price is for one business and one deal. It does not include finding buyers, negotiation, portal listing fees or professional advice. Your solicitor and accountant remain separate from the product. The service is self-serve. Support is limited to payment, login, upload faults and data requests. No one checks the commercial merits of your proposed deal for you.

Keep control of the information

A public advert or blind teaser should not name your business or give away identifying details. The named Information Memorandum can contain more information, but it belongs behind the confidentiality process you choose. Website-sourced logos, colours and photographs are restricted to that named document. Do not put them in a blind teaser. A buyer room is a paid feature and the seller controls access after email verification and a signed NDA.

Before sharing a pack, read every document and check it against your records. A tidy layout is not evidence that a statement is correct. Explain gaps rather than filling them with guesses. Keep seller-only valuation information out of documents sent to buyers. Ask your own advisers about tax, legal effect, employee matters and any regulated part of the transaction. The product does not rank buyers or tell you which offer to accept.

Common questions