Partner Article

Retirees choosing to wind up rather than sell business

More retiring business owners than ever are choosing to wind up rather than sell their business when they retire, according to new research.

This news came as a surprise to RMT who discovered that 80,000 businesses with a turnover of less than £10million and owners aged over 60 ceased trading last year for reasons other than insolvency.

Corporate finance partner at the firm Maxine Pott believes that many business owners of retirement age have developed the misconceived idea that there are no buyers out there for business.

She commented: “With the ongoing tough economic climate, many owner-managed businesses have the impression that finding a buyer will be so challenging that they do not even try.

“However, regardless of how difficult many markets are at the moment, there are always investors or competitors who may be looking to expand or simply pick up a bargain and retiring business leaders could be missing out on a capital sum if they do not at least test the water.”

RMT is now working closely with SMEs to convince them to spend more time on a structured exit plan to give them a better chance of successfully selling the business when time comes.

She added: “When an entrepreneur invests many years of his life in building his or her business, thy should really look to capitalise on that goodwill and success when they retire.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .