Exit Readiness Advisory
An eventual sale raises questions that reach beyond price. How would the business operate without you? How dependable is its revenue? Can the management team explain and deliver the growth plan?
Cummins Business Ventures helps founders and shareholders examine their business from a potential buyer’s perspective, identify gaps in preparation and establish practical priorities before entering a transaction process.
Prepare your business before a buyer sets the agenda.
You Don’t Need a Sale Date to Start Preparing
Preparing for an exit can help you understand your options, even if you have not decided when—or whether—to sell.
This support may be relevant if:
• You are considering a future sale but are unsure how prepared the business is.
• Customer relationships, knowledge or key decisions depend heavily on you.
• You want to strengthen the management team before an ownership transition.
• You have received an approach and need to consider your next steps.
• You want to understand which types of buyers could see a strategic fit.
• You need to identify commercial questions that may arise during due diligence.
We start with your objectives, your circumstances and the condition of the business today.
Understand Your Objectives
Clarify what you want from a potential exit, including your preferred timing, future involvement and priorities for the business. These objectives provide the context for assessing readiness and considering different paths forward.
Assess the Business from a Buyer’s Perspective
Examine the commercial strengths and dependencies that a potential acquirer may scrutinize. Areas can include customer concentration, revenue quality, management capability, founder involvement and the evidence supporting growth expectations.
Prioritize the Preparation
Identify the issues worth addressing before approaching buyers or progressing discussions. We help you distinguish immediate priorities from longer-term improvements and organize the work into a practical preparation roadmap.
What an Engagement Can Deliver
The scope depends on your objectives and how far you have progressed. An agreed engagement can include:
• An exit-readiness assessment identifying commercial strengths, risks and preparation gaps.
• A review of founder dependency and management readiness.
• A prioritized roadmap with responsibilities and review points.
• Buyer landscape analysis identifying potentially relevant acquirer categories and companies.
• A clearer explanation of the business’s commercial position and growth opportunities.
• Preparation for management discussions and commercial due diligence.
The objective is to help you make informed decisions and approach a potential transaction with a clearer understanding of your business and its preparation needs.
Working Alongside Your Existing Advisors
Our role focuses on strategic and commercial preparation: understanding the business, testing its growth story and identifying issues that deserve attention.
Where appropriate, we work alongside your management team, accountant, legal counsel and transaction advisors. Responsibilities are agreed at the outset so the work complements the expertise already supporting you.
Formal valuation, tax advice, legal documentation and transaction execution require the appropriate specialist support.
A Founder’s Perspective on Preparing for an Exit
Having built and exited his own business, John Cummins understands that an ownership transition is both a commercial decision and a personal one.
His approach combines that founder perspective with his experience as an investor and strategic advisor, helping owners examine their options and challenge the assumptions behind their plans.
Questions About Exit Readiness
Do I need to have decided to sell?
1
No. Readiness work can help you understand what a future sale might require while identifying improvements that benefit the business under your continued ownership. Preparing does not commit you to a transaction.
Can you help if a buyer has already approached me?
2
We can help you assess your commercial preparation, clarify your objectives and identify questions to work through with your transaction, legal and financial advisors. The appropriate scope depends on the stage and circumstances of the discussions.
Can you identify potential buyers?
3
Buyer landscape analysis can form part of an engagement. This involves identifying potentially relevant acquirers and considering the commercial rationale for a fit. It does not establish that a company is interested in acquiring your business or guarantee a transaction.
How Prepared Is Your Business for What Comes Next?
Whether an exit is a longer-term possibility or a discussion already underway, tell us what you’re considering. We can explore where preparation would be useful and whether our experience is relevant.