What do Current Vendors look like? If research is correct, we are going to experience around 52% of current practitioners, principals, partners, directors, practice owners retiring in the next five years. Furthermore, this number has seemingly increased by over 10% in a year. Such results probably aren’t overly surprising; we have been waiting for this…

Read More

Beware of the Bogus Broker I recently received a call from a client who had listed their practice for sale with another supposed ‘practice broker’, wanting to discuss their dissatisfaction with the “broker’s” performance thus far and seeking some advice around what realistic market expectations currently where in terms of transaction times, price and the…

Read More

Mistakes Made with Contractual Agreements Most of our colleagues and clients will recall our usual disclaimer ‘we are not solicitors and therefore not providing legal advice’. On that note, the following comments are in keeping with this qualification; we are not providing legal advice. Over recent months we have received a number of enquiries regarding…

Read More
The pitfalls of free money rob knights and co

Acquiring Free Revenue has its Drawbacks I’ve now spoken with a few firms who have made acquisitions of fee bases below $1 Mill where several clients have multiple years’ lodgements outstanding. Initially this is perceived as a real win or bargain. Often the deal goes something like this. The purchaser pays a reasonably competitive market…

Read More

The Importance of Keeping the Vendor as an Advocate The success or failure of any practice transaction significantly hinges on the ability to transfer client relationships from the vendor to the purchaser. After all, this is essentially what is being transferred, the right to revenue generated from the continued servicing of a group of clients.…

Read More
Planning a second office

Buying & Operating Secondary Offices has Some Challenges As more and more practices seek to achieve growth through acquisition, an increasing number seem to be considering the purchase of secondary offices located, at times, in significantly different geographic areas that vary from their original location. This can be in a completely different area or even…

Read More

What’s your Back Up Plan if you Die at your Desk? Firstly, let’s acknowledge that this is a terrible subject to discuss or consider, however it’s because of this awkwardness that so many people, including professionals, fail to plan for such scenarios. As our baby boomer generation continue to work longer, we need to be…

Read More

Is it Necessary to Use a Broker to Sell your Practice? An easy question to answer…..absolutely not! In fact, my gut feel is that the majority of professionals do not utilise a broker when it comes to selling their firms. Why? Probably for a couple of reasons; one being the associated cost, and two being…

Read More

The Art of Due Diligence Due diligence, or DD as it is often referred, is an integral part of the practice sale or transaction process. For whatever reason, vendors tend to get a little tetchy around due diligence time, concerned about what the purchaser will want to review and what information they need to make…

Read More