Sell your business in Devon
We help you understand what your company is worth and introduce you to M&A advisers who have handled comparable deals for owner-managed businesses in Devon. Free for you, confidential and with no obligation.
The business economy of Devon, South West
Devon combines marine and defence engineering at Devonport in Plymouth, food and drink, tourism, and professional services and weather and climate science in Exeter.
What this means for a sale: Many Devon businesses are family-owned with long histories. A sale to management or to an employee ownership trust is a common route alongside a trade sale.
Location gives useful context, but it does not replace an honest look at your own company. A credible valuation starts from your normalised profit, how much of your revenue recurs, how concentrated your customers are and whether the business runs without you.
Who buys companies in Devon
Your buyer might be a competitor or a company in a neighbouring field that wants to grow, a larger UK group building scale by acquisition, a private equity fund, or an individual looking to buy and run a business. Each looks for different things and offers different terms.
That is why a good process does not stop at buyers down the road. A capable adviser will identify and approach, discreetly, the people who have a concrete reason to buy a company like yours in Devon, whether they are based locally, elsewhere in the UK or overseas.
Your own management team is an option many owners forget. A management buyout usually comes at a lower price and often asks you to defer part of the payment, but it gives the most continuity to the company and the people in it. An employee ownership trust is another route with its own tax treatment that is worth discussing with your adviser.
What your company is worth
The starting point is the range of multiples for your sector, applied to normalised EBITDA rather than to turnover. Size and a dozen or so quality factors move you up or down that range, and net debt comes off the result before you reach the figure you would actually receive.
Where you are based affects the multiple less than most owners expect. Sector, size and whether the company can run without you move the number far more. You can read more in how much is my business worth and EBITDA multiples by sector.
Choosing an M&A adviser in Devon
We suggest advisers chosen for their experience with companies in your sector, the deal sizes they usually handle and their knowledge of the area. You talk to them, or to none of them, and the decision stays with you.
Being nearby helps, especially for the first meetings, but it is rarely the deciding factor. It matters more that the adviser has completed deals in your sector and can reach buyers who would never call you on their own. In specialist sectors the right adviser may be in another city, and that is fine: what you are paying for is access to buyers.
Before you sign anything, read how we choose advisers and what M&A advisers charge.
How to start without exposing yourself
News of a possible sale can unsettle customers, suppliers and staff. Starting carefully is simply part of a well-run process.
That is why we do not ask for your company name at the start. Your sector, rough size and area are enough for a first conversation, and nothing you tell us reaches an adviser unless you explicitly agree.
Nearby areas
Tell us your sector, size and situation. We pick advisers who have done comparable deals and explain why each one fits. It is confidential and costs you nothing.