29/09/2026
The businesses that get acquired for the best prices aren't always the most profitable ones. They're the ones that are easiest to finance.
A profitable business with complicated accounts, customer concentration in one or two clients, or a dependency on a key person who's leaving with the sale is harder to finance than a slightly less profitable business with clean accounts, diversified revenue, and a management team that's staying on. Lenders back predictability and they charge more, or walk away entirely, when the risk is harder to model.
This matters to buyers because the price they can offer is partly determined by what they can borrow. And it matters to sellers because understanding what makes a business easy or hard to finance can change how they prepare for a sale and the price they ultimately achieve.
If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, it's worth having a conversation about what the business looks like from a lender's perspective. The changes that make it more financeable usually make it more valuable too, and they take time to implement. Talk to us before you start talking to buyers.