The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports domestic mergers and acquisitions in the first three months of this year falling to the lowest level since records began 45 years ago. This is certainly mirrored in the South East where deal completions are at a similar low. But, as with so many statistics, this does not fully reflect what is going on in the economy.

Deals are taking much longer to negotiate and complete which probably explains the ONS’s disappointing revelation that just 26 British companies with a value of at least £1m were bought by other British firms in the first quarter. This compares to 59 deals done in the same period last year.

Our experience, however, shows that there is still a lot going on beneath the surface of those bare statistics. We currently have 40 active projects – our highest level for 10 years – ranging from corporate sales, acquisitions and MBO support to, interestingly, bank funding projects alongside the active private equity and VC investment market.

Lots of small business owners are obviously still keen to see deals done otherwise our instructions wouldn’t be running at these levels. But seeing them through to completion is proving as hard as it’s ever been with some deals falling off the edge during the latter stages or being subject to lengthy delays.

Many business owners are also starting the grooming process earlier and aligning their corporate strategy to their sale valuation aspirations. Do you know what your EBITDA gap is to get to the valuation you want and how you are going to fill it, or are you just hoping that somebody will knock on your door one day with a pile of cash?

So our message to anyone thinking of selling is to give yourself plenty of time. If you leave it until the last minute to begin the process, you could end up being disappointed. The planning and process may take longer but you will feel more in control and the end result should deliver what you need and want from all of your hard work.

Hopefully the lull in M&A numbers reported by the ONS will be fairly quickly rectified as a longer tail starts to deliver transactions of real value.

If you would like to discuss your own situation, call us on 01273 945984 to arrange a free, no-obligation meeting.