How Simon Read runs the sale of your security business.
Simon runs the sale of your security business himself, from the first approach to buyers to completion and the handover.
For owners whose business is ready to sell, and who are ready themselves.
A fee agreed in writing before we start.
Led by Simon Read, Founder & Managing Director.
What you get
- A confidential approach to the right buyers.
- Offers compared on their terms as well as the price.
- Negotiation led by Simon, with decisions made with you.
- Support through the buyer's checks to completion and the handover.
How it works
A first conversation
Why you are selling, your timing and what matters most.
Confidential buyer approaches
Nothing identifying until an NDA is signed.
Offers and heads of terms
Price, structure and any deferred payments.
Due diligence to completion
Alongside your accountant and solicitor.
The handover
Clients and staff meet the new owner.
What we look at
Why it matters who runs the sale
Most owners sell a business once. The decisions that matter most, which buyers to talk to, which offer to accept and how the price is paid, come quickly once a sale is under way, and having one experienced person make them with you keeps them consistent.
Simon runs every sale himself. Your first conversation can be with Simon or Emily, and decisions on the sale are made with Simon.
Agreeing the approach
Simon agrees the business story, the supporting evidence and the buyers to approach with you, starting from a realistic range, with guarding, systems and monitoring each valued on its own terms.
A platform backed by private equity, the investment firms that buy companies to grow and sell on, a national guarding group and a fire and security business may all look at the same company and value different parts of it, so the order of conversations and the terms both need thought. Knowing which of them suits your business, your staff and your plans for afterwards matters as much as the price.
Sharing information in stages
An anonymised teaser goes to buyers who fit. Nothing identifying is shared until a confidentiality agreement is signed and you have approved the introduction, and you agree what is shared and when.
The detailed document is the information memorandum: the confidential document that describes your business to serious buyers, shared only once they have signed a confidentiality agreement.
Comparing offers
Simon considers each buyer's funding, reasons for buying, timing and conditions alongside the price. A clear timetable helps you compare offers while the team keeps running the business.
How the price is paid matters as much as the headline figure. Part of it may be deferred, paid after completion either on fixed dates or, as an earn-out, only if the business hits agreed targets.
Due diligence and the sale agreement
The selected buyer examines the records in a controlled data room. Due diligence is the buyer's detailed check of your figures, contracts, tax, legal position and people, after a price is agreed in principle and before the sale completes.
Simon negotiates the commercial terms with you and keeps due diligence moving alongside your accountant and solicitor, with Emily Jeans as your day-to-day contact. Solicitors prepare the appropriate sale agreement. An accepted offer is not completion, which is why preparation before this stage pays off.
When to tell your staff
Timing matters. Many owners keep the sale confidential until a deal is firm, and tell the team once a clear handover plan is in place.
Told too early, a deal that falls through leaves anxiety behind, and key engineers and officers may start looking elsewhere. Confidentiality matters twice over in security, to your officers and to clients who want to know their contracts will hold, so plan who tells the team and the clients, in what order, and in person where possible.
Completion and the handover
The sale completes on the agreed legal terms. The handover covers people, records and the business assets included in the agreement, including permitted online access.
Most owners stay on for a handover period so clients and staff get to know the new owner. How your staff transfer, including TUPE where it applies, is settled with your solicitor, and any part of the price paid later falls due on the terms agreed.
What you'll need to have ready
- Your Snapshot or Full Review report, if you have one.
- Your contract register, and your licensing, screening and approval records.
- Your accounts and current management accounts.
- An accountant or tax adviser, and a corporate solicitor who handles business sales.
What happens after
After completion, the handover runs on the terms agreed. Before you get there, line up your tax adviser and solicitor, and if your timing is urgent, talk to Simon about what can realistically be done before approaching buyers.
Questions owners ask
What does the sale cost?
A fee agreed in writing before we start.
Who runs my sale?
Simon runs every sale himself.
Does buying preparation commit me to selling through Reads?
Buying a preparation service does not commit you to selling, or to selling through Reads.
The Full Value & Sale Readiness Review comes before the sale in the same steps towards a sale. A fee agreed in writing before we start. Buying a preparation service does not commit you to selling, or to selling through Reads.
Start with the free calculator.
It gives a first, confidential figure in under 15 minutes. Nothing is decided until you are ready.