What is Your Business Exit Strategy?
– Part 4 of a 4 Part Series on Exit Strategy

 

Exit Strategy

The exit strategy needs the full support of those given the responsibility for delivering the targets that have been set.  This may be restricted to the owners of a business, but often involves non shareholding management.

Most owners prefer not to disclose their intentions surrounding an exit, while a few may be more forthcoming.  The pros and cons of disclosure need to be weighed and incentive arrangements can be put in place to align and motivate non-shareholders and key management with the exit strategy.  Your adviser will have experience with such incentive arrangements and can advise you of how best to structure the transaction to fit the circumstances.

Implementation is not a one-off process and the exit strategy needs to be reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure value creation benefits are being delivered.  Although this is an internal process, outcomes can be significantly improved by involving an external adviser or appointing a suitable non-executive to the board to bring their experience and external point of view to the business.