Scrutton Bland provides a range of professional advice to firms across the east of England, including advising on the sale and acquisition of businesses, management buyouts and business valuations. Here are just a few of the recent projects the Scrutton Bland team have worked on:
DISPOSAL
DUE DILIGENCE
MANAGEMENT BUY-OUT
ACQUISITION
Acted as adviser on due diligence for Perrywood
Advised the management team of more than 14 years, Jason Duff and Simon Cuthbert, on the successful buy-out of RPS Transport (Ipswich) Ltd.
Lead advisers to the leading facilities management Group, Vertas Group Ltd, on their successful acquisitions of MMB Environmental Ltd and Oakpark Security Ltd.
Lead advisers to the shareholders of JP Agronomy Ltd on their successful disposal of the business to Farmacy plc.
Sudbury Ltd on the corporate purchase of the property and assets of Wyevale garden centre in Sudbury.
Do you think things will pick up once the dust has finally settled over Brexit? Yes, I think they will pick up in time, hopefully in part through reform of our legislature, which has proven itself inadequate over the past two years. A big political event is always going to cause a shock to the economy, which then results in volatility within the stock markets and panicked articles in the press. However, we shouldn’t lose sight of the 2008 banking collapse and the MPs expenses scandals. In my opinion it is these events which are the subtext of our economic generation, and which led to measures such as the rock-bottom interest rates and quantitative easing which has defined our current political and economic framework. Brexit is effect, not cause.
Ambiguity and indecision in the political world almost certainly filters through to the business community. What role do you see successful business leaders have in putting back confidence and self-belief into their own operations? Strong leadership is fundamental. There are 5.7 million SMEs in the UK and they make up 99% of our businesses. Most of them are structured and run in pretty much the same way, but what distinguishes the best of them, and what moves an SME up into becoming a larger more successful operation, is the presence of strong individual leaders. This applies equally to big businesses, who need to have leaders who are unafraid to reinvent and reform their business models in order to maintain their strength and competitiveness.
In your experience, is this a good time to acquire another business? Or if a business is thinking about putting itself up for sale, what should be the first things to consider? The received wisdom is to buy low and sell high, and since business valuations have peaked in recent years, it is a good time to sell. We are seeing a strong trend of business acquisition from overseas buyers, although they are all careful to keep their profiles low. My advice to business owners who are thinking of selling is to get themselves on the front foot, and engage an independent corporate adviser to help start the planning process as far in advance as possible. If you have to sell up at the last minute, perhaps forced by unplanned events, it will be difficult for your adviser to present the business in the best possible light to prospective buyers, and you may not realise the best value for your shareholders.
Scrutton Bland’s Corporate Finance team have extensive insight and experience of the region’s business landscape, allowing them to provide in-depth, independent professional advice for complex and confidential transactions. For more information contact luke.morris@scruttonbland.co.uk or tel 0330 058 6559
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