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Exit Readiness for Founders.
Sell for more, on your terms, when you choose.

The 18–36 month program that prepares founder-led mid-market businesses for a premium sale — cleaner financials, real optionality, stronger valuation.

Core promise

Most exits happen too early, at a discount, and with terms founders regret. We work with owners 18–36 months before a likely transaction to change that. Structured preparation, a clean data room, a clear equity story, and a tested buyer universe consistently translate into higher multiples and greater deal certainty.

Empirically, well-prepared mid-market businesses close at EBITDA multiples 10–25% higher than reactive sales of comparable companies. On a €30m EBITDA business, that is €30m–€75m of incremental enterprise value — versus a €300k–€800k preparation cost.

Who this is for

Founder-led businesses, €10m–€250m revenue.

  • Founder-led or founder-majority-owned mid-market businesses.
  • 2–4 years from a likely exit event.
  • Revenue €10m–€250m, EBITDA €2m–€40m.
  • Open to senior advice on structural issues — not just transaction execution.
What we don't do

Boundaries, stated upfront.

  • We don't take over your company.
  • We don't replace your CFO.
  • We don't sell your business — that's the M&A team's job, and it comes after.
  • We don't promise valuations we haven't stress-tested.
Engagement structure

Diagnostic · roadmap · dry run — monthly cadence in between.

PHASE 01

Readiness diagnostic

A senior team looks at your business the way a buyer would. Output: scorecard, prioritised roadmap, indicative valuation range.

4 weeks
PHASE 02

Prioritised roadmap

Quarterly working rhythm against the top three value-drivers: equity story, financial quality, founder dependency. Monthly cadence between.

Ongoing — quarterly
PHASE 03

Pre-market dry run

Vendor-side due diligence. A third party stress-tests the business against real buyer questions — you remediate before go-to-market, not during exclusivity.

6–8 weeks
PHASE 04

Hand-off to M&A

The same senior partner transitions the engagement to our sell-side team. No re-learning the business, no slide deck handovers.

Go-to-market
Pricing

Most exit readiness engagements are structured as a monthly retainer plus a success fee tied to the eventual exit.

Retainer: €10k–€40k per month over 12–24 months, scoped to the complexity of the business.
Success fee: a modest percentage of the eventual transaction value, structured on a Lehman variant. Payable only if a transaction completes.

For a mid-market business, total preparation cost lands between €200k and €800k, against an eight-figure-plus valuation uplift.

Frequently asked

What founders ask us most.

How long before selling should I start preparing?
Most founders benefit from 18–36 months of preparation. That window is long enough to clean up financials, reduce founder dependency, and strengthen the growth story — all of which drive multiples at exit.
What multiple will my business sell for?
It depends on sector, growth rate, margin profile, recurring-revenue share, and customer concentration. Mid-market EBITDA multiples currently range from 5x for low-growth services businesses to 12x+ for software with high NRR. We give every client an indicative range in the first 30 days of engagement.
What's the difference between exit readiness and an M&A process?
Exit readiness prepares the business to sell well. An M&A process sells it. Preparation happens 18–36 months before; the M&A process typically takes 6–12 months. The same firm can do both, but the work is distinct.
Do I need an M&A advisor if I already have offers?
Almost always yes. An unsolicited offer is rarely a fair process — the buyer anchors at the lowest price that might work. A competitive process, run by an experienced advisor, typically delivers a 15–40% price uplift versus a single-buyer negotiation.
Should I use a broker or an investment bank?
For mid-market businesses (€10m–€300m EV), specialist mid-market M&A firms typically outperform both. Brokers are priced for very small transactions and lack process discipline; bulge-bracket banks under-resource deals below €500m.
What is Quality of Earnings?
Quality of Earnings (QoE) is an analysis that normalises your EBITDA — removing one-offs, owner expenses, accounting distortions — to produce the number the buyer will use to negotiate price. A seller-side QoE, run before the process, prevents surprises.
How long does a sell-side process take?
From kick-off to closing: typically 6–9 months for a well-prepared business, 9–15 months if diligence surfaces material issues.
What is an earn-out and should I accept one?
An earn-out is a portion of the purchase price contingent on post-close performance. Accept only when the performance metrics are within your control, the measurement period is ≤24 months, and the earn-out is ≤20% of headline price. Otherwise, renegotiate.
Will I have to stay on after the sale?
Typically yes — 12–24 months is the norm for founder-led businesses. The terms, scope, and exit mechanism should be negotiated as part of the SPA, not left to post-close discussion.
What does engagement look like and what does it cost?
Our exit readiness engagements are typically a monthly retainer (€10k–€40k per month depending on scope) over 12–24 months, plus a success fee tied to the eventual exit. Full details in a 30-minute discovery call.

Last updated · April 2026

Going to market

The offer isn't the proceeds. The terms are.

A well-prepared exit gets you to a competitive process with a credible buyer universe. What lands in your account is determined by what happens after the LOI — the working capital peg, earnout structure, vendor loan, tax treatment, warranties, and escrow position.

01 · Process

Competitive sell-side process

A curated buyer universe, structured auction, and senior-partner-led buyer management. Typically 15–40% higher headline price versus a single-buyer negotiation.

M&A execution →
02 · Terms

Whole Transaction Maximiser

Twelve levers — working capital peg, earnout, vendor loan, tax treatment, warranties, escrow, lock-up — reviewed from the seller's side before you sign anything. Three proceeds views: headline, risk-adjusted, and after-tax net.

Whole Transaction Maximiser →
03 · Negotiation

Buyer Q&A and closing

Senior partners stay in the room through diligence, buyer Q&A, and SPA negotiation. The same team that prepared the exit sees it through to closing — no handover, no re-learning curve.

Talk to a partner →

Curious where you stand? Score yourself in 5 minutes.

Our Exit Readiness Scorecard runs eight diagnostic questions and returns a band from Not ready to Exit-ready, with a short read on what to work on next.

Run the scorecard → Or book a call