The decision of family businesses and private company shareholders to consider the disposal of their company is a challenging one which often becomes both divisive and emotive, and invariably much more complex than the shareholders originally envisaged.

Kingsworth provides a comprehensive service, focusing on the following issues:

• an honest assessment and opinion as to whether pursuing a disposal is an appropriate one for a particular company’s shareholders and, if so, whether the timing is right;
• an objective view on a valuation range which could be ascribed to an individual company at the time when the shareholders are contemplating a disposal;
• advice on any housekeeping issues which a company might sensibly need to address prior to embarking upon a formal disposal process;
• the production of a full information memorandum describing the client company;
• the identification of and undertaking of approaches to an agreed list of potential purchasers, including advice as to whether an incumbent management or employee-led team might be competent to pursue a management buy-out or an employee buy-out as an alternative;
• advice on the relative merits of competing offers;
• advice on the financial and legal structure of the proposed transaction with the preferred purchaser;
• advice on tactics and negotiation of the terms of the proposed transaction through to completion; and
• assistance with the selection of other professional advisers and co-ordination of the services provided by them.