11 minutes read Cost Reduction With margins squeezed and slow growth in a world of inflation, there are fewer opportunities to pass on your increased costs. Business costs are challenging, on second thoughts, they are psychologically difficult – but there are choices. How do you review your cost base and spot ‘layer cake’? Where can…
3 minutes read Today’s Autumn statement resembled a tightrope walk – increasing income (taxes), cutting costs (the state) and improving the balance sheet (debt and interest) – all whilst inflation is rife, and economic growth has stalled. It felt as though the Government was sway-dancing on the tightrope to ‘Everybody Hurts’ (the 1992 REM classic and…
12 minutes read The Market Recessions are not just about poor economic growth, they are often accompanied by other characteristics such as widespread job losses, fewer available jobs, and more Government relief. Investors may baulk, but stocks tend to bounce back rapidly making recessions a good time to invest. With all the turmoil in the…
With all the recent turmoil in number 10 coming after the shocks of Brexit, Covid and the Ukrainian war, one might ask whether now is a good time to carry out Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)? The answer is yes – M&A creates synergy and economies of scale (which offsets margin pressure) and shareholder value growth…
10 minutes read Selling a business through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is an excellent exit strategy for those shareholders who want to preserve the legacy of their company whilst realising wealth at 0% Capital Gains Tax. It can also be a soft exit for sellers who want to gradually relinquish control – but many, however, do not explore an EOT…
Environmental & Social Governance (ESG) has been undoubtably moving centre stage for businesses, driven by its significance as well as legislation. We are increasingly seeing ESG crop up on board agendas and throughout due diligence, as well as starting to play a crucial part in growing sales, managing costs and increasing productivity via the need…
With recession looming, companies are seeing their costs increasing and margins being squeezed. In today’s podcast Kevin Uphill, Chairman of Avondale, is joined by Simon Dodson of Expense Reduction Analyst, leading cost optimisation consultants, to discuss how to keep profits in the business through cost reduction and how to run a lean business model…
For clients thinking of buying or selling companies Capital Gains Tax (CGT) has by far the biggest impact and so far, there is no indication that the CGT rate has changed in this mini-budget – which is good. The trickle-down economic strategy that the new team in No 10 has adopted of trying to grow…
21 minutes read Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen Some of you may recall “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen“, the brilliant song by Baz Luhrmann. The line “sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…” seems particularly apt in these crazy times, it’s also relevant for anyone selling their business – in that timing is important but so…
Whilst we do not believe that the perfect sale, whether trade or otherwise, exists, in this insight we share some ideas that will help you get as close as possible to your perfect sale. Although predominantly written for sellers, there are a few points that are relevant or even specific to buyers. The Decision to…