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Your Business Sold

advertising online to sell a company

Your Business Sold.co.uk is a quick and efficient way of selling your business. It is also extremely cost effective. With six months advertising costing only £50 including a free guide to selling your business ebook worth £25.

How much do business brokers charge?

Don't agree a percentage of sale for advertising!

It is important that you take great care in the area of fees and agreeing what you will pay for the service offered.

If a broker is offering an advertising service why should you give up a percentage of the value of your business should a sale be achieved?

Therefore where you are engaging a firm that promises to advertise, you should expect to pay only for the cost of advertising and handling the responses.
This should be a flat fee.

If the broker is going to engage in negotiation after finding a potential buyer then at this stage a fee based on the percentage of the selling price should be anticipated. Be extremely careful not to pay too much money up front for this service.

In the event that you engage a broker to provide a full broking service (that’s what a true broker should offer) then you should expect to pay a percentage of the selling price and an up front engagement fee.

If you place an advert on an internet site e.g. www.yourbusinesssold.co.uk you should only pay for the advert.

What is reasonable may be a matter of personal choice but the following may offer some guidance:
1 Business valuation £1m
2 Up front engagement fee £1,000 to £2000 (plus vat)
3 Payment on completion 1% to 2% = £10,000 to £20,000 (plus vat)
4 Other fees or expenses – nil

This example is given simply as a guide and please keep in mind that the higher the value of your business the lower the completion percentage should become in general terms. However, be prepared to pay more to your broker for achieving higher values.

Please also take care not to sign up a broker in a rush and repent later when the fee structure becomes evident. Brokers should not demand high up front payments if they are to receive a share of the selling price. Why should they need to if they have confidence in selling your business?

Bear in mind also that if you are asked to sign a lengthy and complex set of business terms then what should be a simple agreement is being complicated for the benefit of the broker only. Ask what that benefit may be then run it by your business solicitor.

What do I need to know about selling my business? How can I avoid common mistakes?

It is important to understand: