Buying an already established business
I have been looking at buying an IT distribution business that is already up and running.
The fact that I have no assets or capital and the only thing that I would be able to contribute in the beginning is hard work and time.
As long as the company that I buy into has no financial problems is it possible to get a 100% finance for the business with the intention of growing and expanding ?
The fact that I have no assets or capital and the only thing that I would be able to contribute in the beginning is hard work and time.
As long as the company that I buy into has no financial problems is it possible to get a 100% finance for the business with the intention of growing and expanding ?
7 Answers
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Hi Chris,
You'll probably have to look at the option of getting a bank loan, as grants cannot usually be used to help purchase an existing business (they can, sometimes, be used to refurb premises though). Naturally, at the moment, some of the banks are not as willing to loan money to small businesses as they have been in recent years! Your local business support agency should be able to tell you what kind of finance is available in your area.
As a slight aside, I'm presuming that you are going to check the accounts thoroughly, and ask obvious questions such as "why are you selling?", etc.
Good luck!
Lee -
Hi Chris
Tricky to get 100% finance from one source most will want to see you putting in some of your own money, if you were asking for my money, I would ask how much you were putting in.
However, there are a few possibilities
(i) vendor finance
(ii) the bank may then match this,
(iii) talk to the suppliers about the possibility of extending their credit
(iv) talk to customers about quicker collection for an initial period
(v) don't buy all the company (reduces the price)
(vi) any assets you can sell and lease back?
(vii) factoring/invoice discounting
hope this helps
Adrian -
Hi Chris,
Be aware that the vast majority of business sellers will not be expecting you to pay for the business up-front in one lump sum, and will accept an initial down-payment (typically between 30% and 40% of the agreed price), with the balance paid off over the subsequent 2 to 3 years as the business generates income for you. Obviously, this type of arrangement reduces the amount of capital you have to raise at the outset.
However, in line with the previous answers, the financing institution will be expecting you to contribute a proportion of the down-payment in order to 'share the risk'.
Good luck with it.
Best regards,
David -
Hi Chris
Might be worth speaking to your bankers about the European Investment Bank loans. Simply this is 'cheap' finance to help small and medium sized business owners. The EU has set aside some low risk money which it is lending through UK clearing banks. I believe this can be used as finance to acquire a business. If you have trouble in finding a banker to speak to about this I might be able to help.
As said above, a lender will expect you to put in some 'pain money'- which means that you are taking a risk on the deal as well as the lender. This can be structured as a personal loan which you take out. There are many ways of skinning a cat as they say and what Adrian Smith says above is all very relevant.
Find a banker and speak to him. A good one will spend time with you and try and structure the transaction with you in such a way that he can get the deal approved by his internal credit panel. If you don't ask you don't get!
Adam... -
it sounds to me like you may be a perfect candidate for invoice finance, such as factoring or invoice discounting.
Invoice finance provides a helpful source of capital that grows in line with sales. It provides an immediate injection of funds from outstanding invoices and then access to a percentage of monthly sales thereafter.
Alot of businesses use invoice finance as a alternative method of business finance
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