A digital marketing 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?
@costa_dimitriou 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 @simone_levitt. 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 @simone_levitt and @tracey_halse. 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.
@simone_levitt and @costa_dimitriou we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Simone Levitt · 02 Sept 2026
@costa_dimitriou 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.
Tracey Halse · 02 Sept 2026
Spot on @simone_levitt. 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.
Joanne Bowden · 02 Sept 2026
Great points from @simone_levitt and @tracey_halse. 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.
lara_f · 02 Sept 2026
@simone_levitt and @costa_dimitriou we implemented this exact setup in Germiston last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Costa Dimitriou · 02 Sept 2026
Super helpful checklist @simone_levitt and @tracey_halse. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.