A courier, freight client in Stellenbosch 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?
@riaz_tax_sa 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 @riaan_randburg. 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 @riaan_randburg and @marcof_bedford. 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 Stellenbosch mid-market business.
@riaan_randburg and @riaz_tax_sa we implemented this exact setup in Stellenbosch last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Riaan · 14 Sept 2026
@riaz_tax_sa 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.
Marco F. · 14 Sept 2026
Spot on @riaan_randburg. 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.
Dirk · 14 Sept 2026
Great points from @riaan_randburg and @marcof_bedford. 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 Stellenbosch mid-market business.
Barend · 14 Sept 2026
@riaan_randburg and @riaz_tax_sa we implemented this exact setup in Stellenbosch last quarter and it cut our monthly admin and reconciliation time in half.
Riaz · 14 Sept 2026
Super helpful checklist @riaan_randburg and @marcof_bedford. Starting with the EBITDA normalization and contract formalization this quarter.