How can corporate finance advisers work with exit planning specialists?
Many owners who approach a corporate finance adviser are not yet ready for a transaction. Exit planning support can help those clients prepare — improving readiness, reducing owner dependency and clarifying value — so they return better prepared, and collaboration is possible on transactions outside an adviser's preferred size or sector.
Written by Tony Vaughan
Last reviewed: · Editorial policy
Not every client is ready for a mandate today. Preparation keeps them on the path.
Where you can help most
- Early-stage planning
- Support clients who are two to five years away from a transaction.
- Readiness
- Structured diagnostics that identify what needs to change.
- Valuation support
- Indicative planning ranges for clients testing their expectations.
- Collaboration
- Work on transactions outside your preferred remit where appropriate.
Business owner
Existing professional adviser
ExitPlanning specialist support
You keep the client relationship
For each client you choose how involved to be: introduce and hand over, work alongside us, stay involved through a transaction, or decide case by case. Your enquiry starts with an experienced ExitPlanning adviser. Together we clarify the client’s objectives and agree what specialist capability, if any, is appropriate.
We aim to complement, not compete with, your own mandates.
An owner wants a sale mandate, but the business still revolves around them. What is the alternative to starting a process?
Use a preparation phase focused on readiness, owner dependency and realistic value expectations. Owners who approach an adviser before they are transaction-ready can use this phase to address the underlying obstacles. Structured diagnostics can identify what needs to change, while an indicative planning range helps test expectations. This is work before a mandate, rather than a claim that a transaction should begin simply because the owner wants to sell.
A prospective seller is several years away. What useful work can happen before transaction advice is needed?
Clarify readiness gaps and value expectations while there is still time to prepare. Structured diagnostics and indicative planning ranges can support early-stage clients several years from a transaction. That can turn a distant intention into identifiable work on readiness and owner dependency. The objective is for the client to return better prepared, not to treat the indicative range as a price or start a transaction prematurely.
A transaction falls outside our usual size or sector. What sort of collaboration does this guide describe?
Possible collaboration includes transactions outside an adviser’s preferred size or sector, alongside preparation support for clients not yet ready for a mandate. Those are distinct situations: one concerns transaction fit, while the other concerns client readiness. The stated aim is to complement the adviser’s own mandates. It does not set out automatic referral terms or a fixed working arrangement, so the appropriate collaboration needs to be considered for the particular opportunity.
Confidential consultation
The earlier you plan, the more options you keep.
A discreet, no-obligation conversation about your plans, your timing and what would make the business more transferable.