SolvedConsultingGermiston

How to prepare a Germiston quantity surveyor business for a partial exit or equity partner?

A quantity surveyor client in Germiston doing R45m turnover wants to bring in an equity partner within 24 months so the founder can step back. What needs to be cleaned up first?

PixelBok◆ 80asked 29 Sept

5 answers

  1. ✓ Accepted by the asker

    Ross McKenzie◆ 83Trusted voiceon Consulting29 Sept
    Spot on @luke_featherstone. Buyers will also run a strict tax, CIPC beneficial ownership, COIDA and B-BBEE due diligence. Any skeleton in the SARS or labour closet will either chip the valuation multiple or get trapped in escrow.
  2. Luke Featherstone◆ 103Trusted voiceon Accounting29 Sept
    @pixelbok_studio start 18 to 24 months early on three pillars: (1) strip all personal founder expenses and non-core assets out of the income statement so normalized EBITDA is crystal clear, (2) lock in formal multi-year customer and supplier contracts rather than handshake deals, and (3) build a second-tier management team so the business does not depend on the founder answering every phone call.
  3. Nikos Papadopoulos◆ 68Trusted voiceon Accounting29 Sept
    Great points from @luke_featherstone and @ross_mckenzie_cpt. Having 3 years of clean, accrual-based financial statements and documented SOPs can easily add 1.0x to 1.5x to the EBITDA multiple for a Germiston mid-market business.
  4. Shaun Bradfield◆ 48Contributoron Accounting29 Sept
    @luke_featherstone and @pixelbok_studio we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
  5. PixelBok◆ 80Trusted voiceon Repair29 Sept
    Super helpful checklist @luke_featherstone and @ross_mckenzie_cpt. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.

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