Desk with documents and planning materials

The Process

The steps to selling your health and beauty business

From first confidential enquiry to completion, exactly what happens at each stage and why each step matters.

Step by step

What happens at every stage of the sale

Confidential Enquiry

Everything starts with a private conversation. You share the basics, business type, location, years trading, and rough turnover, and we explain how the process works, what we need, and what you can expect.

No public listing. No obligation. No cost at this stage.
You control what information is shared and when.
We assess whether the business is realistically saleable and give you an honest view.
If you choose to proceed, we agree terms, a marketing approach, and a confidentiality level.

Business Review & Valuation

Notebook and accounts laid out for review

We conduct a detailed review of your business to understand what a buyer will actually pay for. This is not an online calculator, it is a practical assessment of sustainable profit, transferable operations, and risk factors.

We review your accounts, lease, team structure, and client retention data.
We identify the two or three things most likely to move the price up or down.
You receive a defendable value range, not a single figure pulled from the internet.
We agree a target price and a minimum acceptable offer before any buyer is approached.

Marketing Strategy

Your business is marketed without its real name, address, or identifying details. Buyers see a blind summary first. Only after signing an NDA and proving funding do they receive the full information pack.

We prepare a professional, anonymised information memorandum.
We approach suitable buyers from our network and targeted outreach, not blanket advertising.
Every buyer signs an NDA before receiving identifying detail.
You approve the marketing approach before anyone is contacted.

Buyer Management

We handle every enquiry, question, and viewing request. Buyers are screened for funding, sector experience, and seriousness before they ever speak to you. Your time is protected.

We qualify buyers for funding capability and sector fit before introduction.
All communication runs through us, you are never contacted directly without agreement.
Viewings are managed discreetly, often after hours, to protect staff and client perception.
We create competitive tension where possible to strengthen your negotiating position.

Offer, Heads of Terms & Completion

When an offer arrives, we help you evaluate it properly, not just the headline price, but structure, timing, conditionality, and the buyer's ability to complete. We stay involved through legal process to the handover.

We review every offer against the agreed minimum and advise on acceptance, rejection, or counter.
We support Heads of Terms negotiation, deposit, exclusivity, timescales, and conditions.
We liaise with your solicitor and the buyer's team to keep the deal moving.
We support the handover period to protect staff, clients, and the value you have built.

Calendar and planner showing project timeline

Timing

How long does this typically take?

Every business is different, but these are the realistic ranges we see across the UK health and beauty market. Rushing any stage usually costs value or creates problems later.

Total time from enquiry to completion: typically 4 to 8 months for a well-prepared business.

1Enquiry to valuation

3 to 7 days

Depending on how quickly you can share basic financials.

2Valuation to marketing

1 to 2 weeks

Preparing the information pack and agreeing the approach.

3Marketing to first offer

4 to 12 weeks

Varies by price, location, and sector appetite.

4Offer to completion

8 to 16 weeks

Legal process, lease assignment, and due diligence.

FAQ

Questions about the sale process

Heads of terms, sometimes called a letter of intent or memorandum of understanding, is a document that sets out the key agreed terms of a deal: the price, what is included in the sale, the proposed completion timeline, any conditions that must be satisfied before completion, and the agreed exclusivity period during which the seller will not market to other buyers. Heads of terms are typically not legally binding, with the exception of specific clauses such as confidentiality and exclusivity. The legally binding agreement comes later, usually a business purchase agreement or asset purchase agreement drafted by solicitors after due diligence is substantially complete. The practical significance of heads of terms is that they give both parties a clear agreed framework before the cost and time of full legal documentation is incurred. A deal that has reached heads of terms has a much higher probability of completing than one still at the offer stage.

Due diligence is the process by which the buyer and their advisers verify that the business is as it has been presented, that the financial figures are accurate, the legal documents are in order, the property position is as described, and there are no undisclosed liabilities or issues. In a health and beauty business sale, due diligence typically covers financial records (accounts, management figures, bank statements, VAT returns), legal documents (lease, contracts, any disputes), employment (staff contracts, payroll, self-employed agreements), and operational matters (bookings, supplier contracts, regulatory compliance). The timeline for due diligence in a straightforward sale is typically four to eight weeks. More complex transactions, multi-site groups, businesses with complicated leases, or those with property included, can take longer. The most effective way to accelerate due diligence is to have all documentation organised and ready before going to market, so that when a serious buyer asks for information it can be provided immediately rather than gathered over several weeks.

A managed sale is one in which the process is controlled, staged, and professionally advised from beginning to end, as opposed to an unmanaged sale where the owner handles enquiries directly, releases information without a structured process, and negotiates without support. A managed sale matters for several reasons. It protects confidentiality by ensuring information is released in stages to qualified buyers only. It creates competitive tension by approaching multiple buyers simultaneously rather than dealing with one at a time. It maintains the seller's negotiating position by keeping the process disciplined and not allowing any single buyer to dominate or delay. It reduces the risk of a sale falling through late in the process by identifying and addressing issues early. And it typically achieves a better price because the seller is not negotiating alone against a buyer who may have done many deals. The cost of a managed sale, the broker's success fee, is almost always recovered in a better outcome.

Buyer withdrawal after heads of terms is one of the most frustrating outcomes in a business sale, but it does happen. The most common reasons are: issues discovered during due diligence that were not disclosed or apparent earlier, a change in the buyer's personal circumstances or funding position, and occasionally a buyer who was never fully committed using due diligence as an extended look at the business with no real intention to complete. The best protections against this are: thorough pre-sale preparation that minimises the chance of due diligence discoveries, honest disclosure of any known issues before heads of terms are agreed, careful buyer qualification before exclusivity is granted, and an exclusivity period that is long enough for genuine due diligence but not so long that a non-committed buyer can string out the process indefinitely. If a buyer does withdraw, it is usually possible to return to other interested parties from the marketing process, another reason why maintaining a list of qualified buyers throughout the process rather than focusing exclusively on one buyer is valuable.

Ready to explore a sale?

Start with a confidential, no-obligation conversation. We'll explain the process, assess your business, and give you a clear view of what comes next.

Start Your Confidential Enquiry

Strictly confidential No public listing No obligation