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_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.
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.
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.
@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.
Luke Featherstone · 29 Sept 2026
@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.
Ross McKenzie · 29 Sept 2026
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.
Nikos Papadopoulos · 29 Sept 2026
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.
Shaun Bradfield · 29 Sept 2026
@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.
PixelBok · 29 Sept 2026
Super helpful checklist @luke_featherstone and @ross_mckenzie_cpt. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.