Charlotte Business Brokers for Owners Ready to Sell

Selling a Company Is Not Like Selling a House

A house has a sign in the yard and a price everyone can see. A company has employees, customers and competitors who should hear nothing until the deal is done.

That is why the work happens out of sight. A broker prices your company from its real earnings, writes a profile with no name on it and only shares details with buyers who sign a nondisclosure agreement and show they can pay.

From there it is a matter of finding more than one serious buyer, getting offers side by side and keeping the deal on track through due diligence. You keep running the business the whole time.

Who We Help

Our partner works with owners whose companies bring in about $1 million or more a year. Below that size, a full brokered sale often doesn't pay for itself.

Above it, the gap between a good process and a rushed one can be worth a lot of money.

• Founders getting ready to retire with no family member taking over
• Partners who no longer agree on where the company goes next
• Owners who got an unsolicited offer and want to know if it is fair
• Owners who are tired, or whose health is telling them it is time
• Owners who aren’t ready yet but want to know their number

What Your Company Is Probably Worth

Buyers boil it down to one question: how much does the business really earn, and how many years of those earnings are they willing to pay for up front?

For most owner run companies, earnings are measured as seller’s discretionary earnings, or SDE. Once a company has a management team in place, buyers switch to EBITDA. Our guide on SDE vs EBITDA shows the difference.

The multiple depends on risk. Steady recurring revenue, a spread of customers and a team that runs the day without you all push it up. One giant customer or an owner who holds every relationship pulls it down.

A free valuation puts real numbers on all of that, so you start with facts instead of a guess.

Charlotte Has a Deep Pool of Buyers

Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the country, and that money doesn’t only go into towers uptown. Private equity groups, family offices and search fund buyers all shop for solid local companies here.

Add in individual buyers using SBA loans and larger competitors looking to grow, and a well prepared company can draw interest from several directions at once. Our page on selling to private equity covers what those groups expect.

Industries We See Most

Service companies with repeat customers are some of the easiest to sell well.

Roofers, landscapers, pest control operators, insurance agencies, accounting firms, IT providers, dental practices and distributors all have pages of their own in our industry guides.

If yours isn’t listed, that is fine. The same principles apply, and a broker who has sold companies in your field can tell you what buyers will focus on.

What It Costs

The valuation and the first conversation cost nothing. If you decide to sell, brokers are usually paid a success fee at closing.

BizQuest puts the common rate around 10% for companies selling for $1 million or less, with larger deals often on a sliding scale.

Ask about any upfront fees before you sign an engagement agreement. A good broker will explain exactly what you pay and when.

Where We Work

We serve owners in Charlotte and across the region, including Mooresville, Gastonia, Matthews and Rock Hill, plus Huntersville, Cornelius, Concord, Pineville and Fort Mill.

Want to know where you stand? Fill out the valuation form at the top of this page or call (704) 555-0187. It is free, private and there is no obligation to sell.