Exit Preparation
Get exit-ready before you go to market
Exit Preparation is the work of getting a business exit-ready before going to market. For Australian and New Zealand founder-led companies, it means aligning on the outcome you are seeking, resolving readiness gaps and strengthening the narrative with proof. It also means preparing the materials buyers expect and building early buyer relationships, so a future Exit Management process can be run with confidence.
Exit Preparation is the first of our two offerings on the exit path; Exit Management, the second, prepares the business for market and runs the sale when the business and timing are right. Typical duration: 12–24 months, and we can maintain readiness for longer while the timing is pressure-tested.
WHY PREPARE EARLY
Why does early preparation matter?
Preparing well before a buyer appears gives you the opportunity to:
Delivering higher exit value
Choose the ideal timing, sharpen the narrative, strengthen positioning and create the conditions to negotiate from a position of strength.
Create greater certainty of outcome
Reduce avoidable deal friction, build buyer understanding earlier and increase the likelihood of attracting the right acquirer and completing smoothly.
Reduce risk and avoid surprises
Identify and address deal-killers, discount factors and readiness gaps before they create pressure in a live process.
Go to market with momentum
Build the foundations, proof and early relationships that let you launch Exit Management with confidence when the ideal window opens.
EXIT-READY
What does it mean to be exit-ready?
Exit Preparation is complete when the business could start a sale process at any time and run it with confidence.
Alignment
Shareholders are aligned on the outcome they are seeking, the preferred path, and timing.
Readiness gaps resolved
Priority issues across financial, tax, corporate and operational hygiene are resolved or have clear, defensible answers.
A credible narrative with proof
The story of the business is clear, consistent and supported by evidence, and the team is prepared to present it and handle questions.
Materials prepared and consistent
The core sale materials, including the financial model and data room, are complete and reconcile with each other.
Early buyer relationships
Selective relationships with best-fit buyers and investors have been initiated, building trust and understanding over time.
THE ENGAGEMENT
What happens in an Exit Preparation engagement?
The first months focus on alignment and priorities: understanding the outcome you are seeking, assessing readiness, and agreeing the plan. From there the work runs across readiness initiatives, the narrative and supporting evidence, the sale materials, and a selective early-relationship program with potential buyers.
We pressure-test timing together, so the decision to go to market is made deliberately rather than forced by circumstance. Our team works closely with yours, with regular working sessions and ad hoc support for time-sensitive items such as an unsolicited approach.
STAGE 1Align
Understand the outcome you are seeking, assess readiness and agree the plan
STAGE 2Build readiness
Readiness initiatives, the narrative and supporting evidence, the sale materials, and a selective early-relationship program with potential buyers.
STAGE 3Exit-ready
The business could start a sale process at any time and run it with confidence.
STAGE 4Maintain
Until the window opens. Timing is pressure-tested together, so the decision to go to market is made deliberately.
TIMING
When should a founder start preparing?
Earlier than most founders expect. Readiness is built in the quiet years, not in a live process, and optionality is the asset. A business that is exit-ready can respond to an approach, a market window or a change in circumstances from a position of strength. If a potential exit is one to three years away, the preparation window is now.
A CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION
Considering an exit in the coming years?
We can discuss your objectives, current readiness and what preparation would look like for your business.