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Business Brokerage Division

Why Choose Alberta Business Sales?

It is estimated that more than one third of business owners expect to sell, transfer or exit their business within the next three years. Whenever a business changes ownership, a number of challenges arise, ranging from day-to-day logistics to staffing to ensuring that both the buyer and seller benefit from the transaction.

Choosing to buy or sell a business is no walk in the park. It is one of the largest decisions you will ever make, and even with a great deal of preparation, the commitment of time and effort can be overwhelming. The road to completing a transaction is riddled with potential pitfalls, and even experienced buyers and sellers are vulnerable.

Alberta Business Sales came into being out of the recognition that the challenging task of buying and selling a business successfully requires confident, professional representation. Just as real estate agents assist clients through the process of buying and selling homes and commercial properties, our focus is on helping you buy or sell a business and to provide the services needed to make the transaction a smooth one while maximizing the benefit to both parties.

Conventional wisdom tells us that business sales easily become adversarial. Buyers are interested in buying low while sellers want to sell high. Conflicts arise as each party struggles to get the best deal possible.

It doesn't have to be that way.

A Business Broker at Alberta Business Sales will work closely with both a willing buyer and seller to assess how to best broker the transaction so that both parties emerge a winner.

Save yourself time and effort in handling the negotiations of the sale by choosing to buy or sell through a business broker who understands your market. Each party will be carefully guided through the process, and all questions will be answered as they arise. The result is a buying and selling decision made with confidence and pride.

Buy a Business:

Not all businesses are listed, but if the price is right, every business is for sale. Whether it's officially on the market or not, we can help you weigh your options and approach potential sellers to help you get the business that's right for you at a price that's fair.

There are many important considerations that complicate the decision to buy. We offer services to buyers who face challenges with financing or who lack experience.

To fully understand the details of what you're looking for in a new business, we always start with a complete Buyer's Questionnaire to ensure that we proceed with clarity and confidence from the first to the final step.

We also recognize that a strategic buyer views price as only one important consideration among many other specific requirements that need special attention, which is why we offer a Buyer Agency option to address your specific needs.

Sell a Business:

The reasons for exiting a business are numerous—profit, retirement, relocation, health, or just a change of pace. But whatever your reasons for choosing to sell, one thing is certain. Your decision is personal and must be handled with discretion.

We will assist you through the selling process confidently and confidentially. Your financial information and employees will be treated with sensitivity, and your loyal customers will be shielded from the process so that you are left with as few distractions as possible. You will be free to continue your business's momentum and ensure that its best assets don't slip away during the selling process.

By tailoring a marketing strategy to your needs, we promote your business to your ideal prospective buyers. We carefully select the most effective websites to market your business and find the most probable buyer. Our approach guarantees that you're not only able to sell faster, you're able to sell better.

You can expect our Business Brokers to take you through the following steps:

 Meet confidentially and sign a Confidentiality Agreement between you and Alberta Business Sales
 Gather and review your company's historical and financial data
 Conduct a professional valuation to determine fair market value and terms of sale
 Enter into an engagement agreement together
 Prepare a “blind profile” that attracts buyer interest and discretely discloses information to potential buying candidates
 Prepare a confidential profile of the business for qualified buyers
 Develop a marketing strategy
 Qualify buyers for financial capacity and seriousness in placing an offer
 Arrange meetings, and facilitate negotiations and preparation of offers
 Facilitate the closing of the transaction with your legal and accounting professionals.

Qualifying and Identifying the Buyers

Our experienced Business Brokers are successful business owners and managers who understand the buying process. We will put your mind at ease by
• determining the purchaser’s buying criteria and financial resources,
• selecting and targeting acquisition candidates specific to your requirements,
• completing a confidential profile of the targeted acquisition for the purchaser to review,
• negotiating and structuring the purchase, and
• finalizing the acquisition.

Where financing stands in the way of the perfect buyer acquiring your business, we may be able to help. Our connections with banking and lending contacts can help sellers supplement their financing.

Businesses Wanted

Alberta Business Sales keeps a pulse on the kinds of businesses that are high in demand for new business buyers. This section identifies business types that are currently sought after. Contact us to prepare your business profile and present it in a timely manner to a buyer. Specific requests may be posted here as required.

Lifestyle

Hobby and Crafts
Camera and Photography Supplies
Electronics
Gift Shops
Pet Supplies
Sporting Goods
Toys

Personal Services

Cabinet and Kitchen
Car Wash
Convenience Stores
Gas Stations
Dry Cleaning
Hardware
Laundromat
Medicentres
Pharmacy
Recycling
Renovation
Self-Storage
Windows and Glass

Commercial Services

Advertising and Marketing
Printing
Promotions

Resource and Energy

Natural Gas
Oilfield
Pipeline

Food and Beverage

Cafés
Fast Casual Restaurants
Health Food
Liquor
Restaurants
Wine Retailers 

Business Valuation Services

An accurate and fair valuation of your business is essential to conducting a smooth transaction, though valuation is one area of the business many owners struggle with. We provide accurate, objective business valuations for privately held companies in a number of industries, including retail, financial services, medical practice, accounting, construction, distribution/wholesale, manufacturing, insurance, veterinary practices and transportation. This ensures that both buyers and sellers can move forward with the peace of mind that comes with knowing the right numbers are on the table.

Reasons for Valuations

Business/Asset Valuations for Financing - Increasingly, lenders require an independent business valuation prior to approving a business loan or a credit line.

Sale of a Company - Determining the value of a business is the first step in the process of selling a business. An accurate valuation prepares you for negotiations and positions you to respond to buyer concerns by allowing you to speak with authority about your company's value and risk drivers. It will also identify sources of value and areas of your business that can be improved to increase profitability either before the sale takes place or by the buyer, after the sale.

Exit Strategy Planning – Whether the decision to sell is voluntary or forced by an unforeseen event, business owners or their families are often faced with the challenge of selling a business that isn't worth what they had hoped or that isn't marketable in its current state.

Your business planning and exit strategy should begin well in advance of your exit from the business, and it should address both voluntary and involuntary transfers. A formal valuation with annual updates will keep you prepared for both the expected and unexpected sale of your business. Most importantly, it will ensure that both you and your next of kin have access to accurate information regarding the fair market value of your business and avoid unnecessary loss of capital due to inaccuracies or lack of clarity.

Mergers & Acquisitions Division

Your interest may be to sell a portion of your shares and remain as a company executive with a strategy to exit at a later date. In these arrangements, special consideration must be given to a number of areas, such as tax planning. For companies worth over $2 million, our Mergers & Acquisitions Division will conduct a highly specialized analysis of your company's best options and put forth the appropriate strategies so that you're able to cash out comfortably whenever you're ready.

Our strategic alliances give you the opportunity to connect with private equity markets and corporate buyers. We can also match you with individual buying groups who have the financing, marketing and business strategy knowledge and expertise best suited to your business as well as access to capital beyond individual financial capacity.

Strategic Growth Individuals and Companies

Individuals or emerging growth companies with significant management skills and access to capital from private sources may be interested in investing in privately-held businesses such as yours and in being involved at the advisory level to help the company with strategy, marketing or needed financing. They often possess a level of sophistication and experience acquiring businesses, which our Mergers & Acquisitions team can assist you to merge or divest advantageously.

Corporate Buyers

Our Mergers and Acquisitions team has the training, experience and expertise to identify and qualify corporate buyers who may be interested in acquiring your business. We understand how to confidentially approach corporate buyers without disclosing your company’s identity.

To level the playing field with the savvy corporate buyers, experienced mergers and acquisitions professionals will be onside to help you achieve your objectives fairly.

Typically, corporate buyers are interested in outright purchasing all of your interests in your business; however, others may be interested in a strategic alliance that may involve an equity investment in a joint venture with your company, with a provision for you to exit at a later date. Allow our Mergers & Acquisitions team to help you confidentially approach and negotiate a strategic alliance.

Private Equity Groups

Private Equity Groups involving institutional investors and pension funds exist for the sole purpose of investing in privately held companies such as yours. These groups are interested in entities that fit their stated objectives and investment strategies. Acquisitions to build synergistic growth for the companies already in their portfolio are the purpose for investing millions in capital.

Private Equity Groups are interested in wholly owned targeted acquisitions, and under certain favorable situations, they may be interested in recapitalizing investments. These cases allow you to remain as key management of the company with a succession plan to provide for your retirement. The benefit to you is that you can cash out partially and divest the balance of your ownership upon retirement.

Business Advisory Services

Buyers with unique purchasing requirements and sellers who wish to improve their business's profitability prior to sale can benefit from one of our business advisory services.

Buyer Agency Option

Buying a business involves more than simply finding one that is priced right. Location, access to the required funds, your level of experience in the industry, and your long-range plans are all important considerations that add new layers of challenges to the buying process. Often, businesses that are well suited to the intricacy of your needs are not listed for sale due to confidentiality or other reasons.

Knowing where to look, what questions to ask and how to analyze the business that you’re looking for can minimize the risks of a buying decision. A business specialist can help you tap into sales that are otherwise inaccessible and help you examine all aspects of the transaction so that you acquire a business that meets all your needs while protecting your investment.

If you have specific requirements that may complicate the risk factors of your purchase, a Buyer Agency Agreement may be your best option. An Alberta Business Sales Broker can open doors and act as a qualified representative to advise and negotiate on your behalf.

Growth Strategies and Franchise Development

Successful business owners may recognize the need to grow their ventures, but navigating the multitude of growth strategies can be time consuming and risky.

Franchising is the most commonly considered strategy, and for companies with the proper design, this can be a viable option. But there are additional growth strategies using franchise principles that are applied in a multi-unit corporate structure. Choosing the best option and structuring the business for growth requires a long view and understanding of the process.

Contact our business development specialist, who will guide you through the process of a customized growth strategy or franchise development.

The business development process strengthens the following areas:

Innovative process
Transform innovative ideas into actions that yield productive and profitable results.

Standard operating procedures (SOP)
Document best practices to enable and ensure consistent results.

Measurement
Develop and use standard measures to record information that indicates how well the business is performing and how the SOPs are audited.

Implementation
Establish a distinctive and proprietary way of implementing the SOPs consistently.

Replication
Ensure that a method of predictable replication is in place so that the business becomes and remains scalable.

Economic business culture
Recruit and retain people who are engaged and who possess the passion, balance and intention to spark accelerated business growth.

Strategic growth perspectives
Leverage a support system to help achieve the vision.

Financing the Business Acquisition

Today, owning a business is a more attractive proposition than ever before. But despite the ideal climate for entrepreneurship, the credit crunch has made traditional lending institutions hesitant to provide financing, and buyers should expect to seek financing through less conventional channels.

Many financing sources exist if you are open to creative solutions and if you are willing to take on some risks. We work with a variety of lenders with whom we've established a trusted relationship and who present our clients with opportunities that may otherwise be unattainable. Our in-house broker will help you determine the best financing option and negotiate the best terms possible.

For many businesses, one of the following will present the best option:

Buyer’s Personal Equity

This is every buyer's starting point.

Transactions that require minimal cash upfront from the buyer are exceptionally rare at the best of times, and they are dependent upon a number of variables and stringent restrictions. Buyers must recognize that they are highly unlikely to purchase a business without personal equity to invest.

Most buyers should be prepared to pay 20-50% of the sale price through personal cash reserves. For small businesses, this usually works out to between $50,000 and $150,000.

Personal equity financing isn't without its benefits, however. Buyers who invest their own capital are more attractive to investors and lenders, allowing them to further leverage their investment.

Seller Financing

Seller financing offers buyers more flexibility and room to negotiate the terms of the financing while at the same time allowing sellers to obtain the best possible price and ensure a successful sale. In small business transactions, it is the most common means of financing.

Sellers typically offer financing at interest rates that are at or below those offered by banks, and they are often open to longer amortization periods. How flexible they are often depends on their own cash needs, but the benefits of seller financing are favourable enough to the seller that it's always an option worth entertaining.

As with providing personal equity, seller financing also makes the buyer more attractive to other investors and lenders.

Venture Capital

Venture capitalists are accustomed to taking on risk, and they're more likely than a traditional lending institution to invest in small- and medium-sized businesses, though they will often wish to invest alongside other venture capitalists.

One of the benefits of seeking venture capital investments is that these investors have a personal financial interest in ensuring the business's success, so they often lend buyers their expertise as well as their capital. However, buyers must be aware that venture capitalists will likely seek majority control of the business, and they will expect a significant annual return (at least 30%).

Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP)
Through the CSBFP, buyers can access loans of up to $500,000 with favourable financing terms that include long amortization periods and reasonable interest rates.

The CSBFP has many restrictions, and those applying for it must go through a thorough qualification process. Certain types of businesses are ineligible, and the loans can be used to finance only certain items. Applicants must also demonstrate that the business is stable and the cash flow strong enough to reliably make their loan payments.

The availability of CSBFP loans for qualified buyers is growing as more banks and lending institutions are being approved as CSBFP lenders. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/csbfp-pfpec.nsf/eng/home.

Lending Institutions

Many buyers turn first to their bank for financing, but it's important to keep in mind that banks typically reject over 80% of loan applicants. To obtain financing this way, buyers must be in an exceptionally favourable financial position, with significant net worth and liquid assets, and they must be in good standing with the bank with a clear history and preferred customer status.

For most, bank financing just isn't an option, but even for those who do qualify, less conventional channels are likely to offer better financing arrangements. This isn't to say that bank financing shouldn't be considered, but it's usually to the buyer's benefit to explore other options, even if they are used only to reduce the amount of financing provided by the bank.

Succession Planning/Generational Transfer

For most family and small businesses, planning for succession is the toughest challenge they face. In some cases, a succession plan can be fraught with emotion as the owner seeks to preserve the legacy of the business as they identify where the most capable leadership will come from. Also, the implications of those decisions can create turmoil in the minds of the management and staff.

Yet Succession Planning is also a great opportunity. Owners can maximize their yields as they structure an organization capable of becoming a multi-generational enterprise that retains the mission and values of the founder.

We advise family and closely held businesses by bringing issues onto the table relating to the succession of the ownership, the succession of the entity as a whole, and the management of the process.

There is a clear disconnect between the optimism of the current family business owners, and the reality of the unlikelihood for most family businesses to survive through the generations. This can be directly attributed to a lack of business succession planning.

Specific Services

Management Succession Planning
When we mention management succession planning, we're not talking about who will own shares or assets in the future; we're talking about who's going to take on the countless day-to-day tasks that keep the family business running smoothly and ensure it remains an asset worth preserving.

Management succession planning requires focus on four key departments:
• Administration and Finance
• Operations and Customer Fulfillment
• Sales
• Marketing

Ownership Succession Planning
The current state of ownership succession planning among family businesses is decidedly mixed. About two-thirds of family business owners report a good understanding of the amount of estate taxes due upon their deaths, but about one in five have done no estate planning at all. Equally concerning is the fact that one in three junior generation family business members have no knowledge of their senior generation's transfer plans.

The four ownership succession planning issues that are the most common areas of contention or omission in family business succession planning are
• technical mistakes,
• planning in a vacuum,
• leaving the business to the surviving spouse, and
• treating children equitably.

Addressing your ownership succession plan earlier rather than later will prevent future family feuds and get everyone on the same page to give clearer direction to the business in the present.