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News, views and tips for anyone looking to buy or sell a business from Business-sale.com, the leading UK businesses for sale listing service.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'business news'
What business brokers are saying about the prospects for 2010
How will the market for businesses for sale will fare in 2010? We have talked to our contacts in the industry and have put together a few opinions from the professionals in the business No related posts....
How to approach hotels for sale
Demand for hotels for sale in the UK has been stimulated by an influx of newcomers to the hospitality industry, with particular interest focused on the cheaper end of the market. No related posts....
Large rise in retail businesses in administration expected for 2010
The UK's retail sector faces another "bloodbath" on the high street next year, according to insolvency specialists. They point to decreased spending and rising unemployment as reasons to expect a wave of administrations echoing the events of early 20...
No increase announced in UK capital gains tax
Entrepreneurs considering selling their businesses over the next year are breathing a sigh of relief today as the chancellor, Alistair Darling, held back from lifting capital gains tax rates in today’s Pre-Budget Report. Expectations in many qua...
UK business valuations rising again
During the third quarter of 2009 the Private Company Price Index (PCPI), which gives an indication of the average multiple of after tax profits at which private firms are sold for, rose again – much to the delight of anyone looking to sell a bu...
Pre-pack administrations to be investigated by OFT
There has been much in the press about the "pre-pack" administration process not giving a fair deal for the business's creditors and accountancy firms benefitting in the form of lots of fees. Despite many attempts by the industry to highlight the be...
Rate of corporate insolvencies slowing
A recent PwC survey showing that the pace of business failures has slowed is an indicator that the state of the UK economy is beginning to improve. The fact that growth in UK unemployment has also slowed helps to confirm this view. However, ins...
The growing importance of solvency opinions in the buying of businesses
During a corporate transaction (such as the purchase of a business) a solvency opinion is a financial opinion issued by an M&A advisor about the likely solvency of the newly created entity. The solvency opinion is based on an analysis that incl...
Manage cash flow or there will be no business to sell
Most directors of failed businesses cite a drop in profitability caused by tougher trading conditions as the main reason for their firm's demise. In reality for many of these businesses, it is not 'profitability' but 'cash flow' which was the real pr...
Bosses to try and rescue Coffee Republic
Steven Bartlett, a non executive director of Coffee Republic since last October, has teamed up with Milton Guffogg to assemble a bid ahead of today's deadline to rescue the beleaguered chain. But it looks like there is another strong offer from Pete...
Large European corporates put business assets up for sale
We have noticed that a number of large European businesses have put some of their assets on the market. These include Italian Oil Giant Eni, which has hired Rothschild to sell most of its North Sea fields for more than $1bn. The fields that are up ...
Investors looking to buy property businesses
Recently, we have seen investors looking to get back into the property game. Countrywide, the estate agency group, is to begin the search for acquisitions after its investors strengthened its balance sheet with £37.5m following on from its recent d...
Private Equity buy up struggling businesses
More than a third of management buyouts in the UK since the start of the year occurred at companies in administration, as private-equity firms target failed businesses. Private equity firms with cash and those less reliant on debt have been particul...
Three entrepreneurs tell us about their experience of buying distressed businesses
Peter Harkness and his business partner, Owen Davies, bought Highbury Communications, the North London-based publisher of many well-known newsstand magazines out of administration in 2006. The businesses downfall occurred after it had taken on too m...
Pickfords may go into pre-pack administration
Another household name looks like it might join the list of companies that have gone insolvent. Team Group who rescued Pickfords, the removals business, last year has reportedly brought in Deloitte, the accountancy firm, to advise on all possible op...
Scotland’s oldest ski resort is up for sale
Now that spring is in the air you would be forgiven for turning your attention to more summery pursuits. However, the owners of Scotland's oldest ski centre have decided spring is the time to get people with money interested in buying the resort whi...
Low value of sterling can be good news for those looking to buy or sell businesses
Is there a silver lining to the low value of Sterling that has hit the headlines in recent days? According to experts - our exports will be cheaper and so boost manufacturing, companies with foreign earnings will be quids in, and we will see more of...
Pre-pack insolvency can be best..
Pre-pack insolvency practice has had much bad press of late. Tenon Recovery has come out fighting and said that it can help to avoid the “domino effect” of suppliers to the business going bust. Critics have argued it has allowed owners of busin...
Current state of the M&A market
A look at the current state of the M&A market for small and medium sized businesses Up until this summer, the small to mid-sized business M&A market has not been severely affected by the problems in the financial markets. However, as the ...
UK technology, media & telecoms industry still attracting interest.
According to Freshfields Bruckhaus & Deringer, up until September 2008, the UK technology, media & telecoms (TMT) sector has attracted the second strongest and most widespread M&A investment since the dotcom boom. Only 2006 had higher...
Entrepreneurs’ relief - the latest concession from Alistair Darling
First there was retirement relief, then there was business asset taper relief, and now there is entrepreneurs’ relief. No doubt the next government will try something else! The latest relief has been introduced following the uproar from small ...
CGT Earn-outs Omission
There exists a glaring omission in the new Capital Gains Tax rules - they did not address earn-outs. Thousands of entrepreneurs who sold their businesses in 2005/06 have until 31st January to sort out a CGT tax nightmare for which HMRC issued no guid...
CGT - The Devil is the Detail
Well, what a surprise. Several hours after the chancellor announced the changes to the capital gains tax regime yesterday, a few very nasty details emerged. The first startling discovery was that ‘entrepreneurs’ relief’ is in fact ...
Chancellor announces CGT changes for business owners
Alistair Darling today issued a major concession to the forthcoming capital gains tax changes due to come into effect on 6th April. A new 10% Entrepreneur’s Relief is to introduced (similar to the old Retirement Relief), for business owners sellin...
Getty Images hoists up the For Sale sign
Getty Images, the market-leading stock photography vendor, is up for sale. Or, at least, it admitted it has hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options. The US-based company was founded in 1995 by Jonathan Klein and Mark Getty, grandson of J...
Crystal ball gazing…
It’s prediction season again; one just has to glance through any financial or business publication for lists of what’s going to be hot or cold in 2008, which shares are going to explode and where to buy or not to buy your next investment property...
Capital Gains Tax Decision Delayed
It looks like the Chancellor is going to have a busy New Year with the Northern Rock crisis and problems over the business community’s opposition to the CGT reforms. Continuing uncertainty over the scope of the Capital Gains Tax reforms have been ...
