Sale outcomes and case studies

A group of three well-performing hair salons with strong combined turnover but significant owner involvement across all three sites. The owner had no management layer in place and was personally known to key clients across all locations. The lease on the flagship site had fourteen months remaining at the point of instruction.

We agreed a phased approach: delay marketing until the flagship lease was extended and a deputy manager had been in place for six months. During this period we prepared the information memorandum and approached our registered buyer network confidentially. When we went to market we had twelve months of management data showing reduced owner dependency and a newly executed five-year lease on the flagship premises.

Sale completed to a trade buyer expanding their regional portfolio. Clean offer structure with no deferred consideration. Completed within six months of formal instruction.

An award-winning single-site beauty salon with a loyal client base and strong repeat booking rates. The owner had been running the business for eleven years and was the primary therapist. Financial records were clear but the owner was generating approximately fifty-five percent of total revenue personally.

We worked with the owner over eight months before going to market to systematically redirect new bookings to the team and introduce existing clients to specific practitioners. By the time of launch the owner's personal revenue share had reduced to thirty-two percent. We targeted buyers who had previous experience managing beauty practitioners rather than those buying their first business.

Sale completed to an experienced owner-operator expanding from a single site to two. Handover period of three months agreed. Completed at a multiple consistent with the upper end of the typical range for a business of this type.

A profitable leasehold barbershop with strong local trade and consistent annual turnover. The lease had been allowed to run down to eighteen months remaining and the landlord was a private individual with no professional management. The seller needed to complete quickly due to a change in personal circumstances.

We assessed the landlord situation and advised the seller to approach the landlord directly about an informal extension before marketing. The landlord agreed in principle to a new three-year term. We proceeded to market with the new term in negotiation rather than completed, which required careful management of buyer expectations. We qualified buyers specifically for their ability to tolerate the lease timeline risk and focused on buyers with experience of similar property situations.

Sale completed to a first-time buyer with a strong personal financial profile. New lease completed simultaneously with the business sale. Total process seven months from instruction.

A well-established aesthetics clinic with a strong treatment menu, good online reviews, and consistent revenue. The complexity was the regulatory and compliance framework: several practitioners held individual practitioner licences rather than the business holding central licences, and the prescribing arrangements required specific sign-off. Buyers without aesthetics sector experience found the compliance picture difficult to assess.

We narrowed the buyer target list to individuals and groups with existing experience in aesthetics or medical aesthetics. We prepared a detailed compliance summary as part of the information memorandum, covering the licencing structure, the prescribing arrangements, and the steps required to transfer them to a new owner. This allowed qualified buyers to assess the compliance position with confidence rather than uncertainty.

Sale completed to a small aesthetics group acquiring their second London site. Regulatory transfer managed as a parallel workstream to the legal completion. Total process nine months from instruction.

A premium day spa with strong branding, high average spend per client, and a well-developed treatment menu. The business had been performing well for four years but the owner was considering retirement and had no clear succession plan. The premises were on a licensed site with specific planning conditions attached to the spa use.

We identified the planning conditions as the primary buyer concern and engaged a planning consultant to prepare a brief report confirming that the conditions were transferable and what the ongoing compliance requirements were. This was included in the information memorandum. We targeted buyers looking for a premium lifestyle business with scope for growth.

Sale completed to a private individual relocating from London. Premium positioning supported an above-average multiple. Completed in five months from instruction.

An established hair salon with onsite living accommodation above the trading premises. The dual-use nature of the property created complexity: the sale involved both the business and a leasehold interest in the residential element, each with separate legal considerations. Some buyers were deterred by the complexity and the need to finance both elements.

We prepared a detailed property summary covering both the commercial lease for the salon and the residential arrangement for the accommodation. We targeted buyers who specifically valued the accommodation element, either as a primary residence or as an investment, reducing the buyer pool but significantly improving the quality of the enquiries.

Sale completed to a buyer who intended to live on site and run the business personally. The combined nature of the sale was positioned as a benefit rather than a complication. Completed in six months from instruction.