We buy companies

We know that the decision to sell some or all of your business is a hugely important one for you, your family and the business itself. Do you sell out completely? Do you take some cash out and start to reduce your involvement? Do you pass your business into employee or management ownership?

At Nevis we are flexible in our approach.

We would be delighted to buy your business outright and provide a full exit to all shareholders. In this scenario, we would either support your next tier of management to continue to run the business or recruit new leaders to fill any gaps. 

Equally, we know that sometimes the objectives or timescales of all shareholders aren’t totally aligned - some may want to exit completely, some partially and others may want to stay and take the business on. We’re very happy to buy the shares of the shareholders who want to leave and work closely with those who want to stay. We’ll always tailor the deal to meet the objectives of each individual.

  • If you own 100% of your business you might think that a trade sale is the only way for you to sell the company and realise your investment. However, unlike private equity firms, we are happy to acquire 100% of a business and, because it’s our own money at stake, we’ll work hard to support the remaining management, protect your brand and ensure the business reaches its full potential.

    Where we do buy 100% of a company, we like there to be some management in the business in addition to the selling shareholder(s) because we recognise that the continued success of the business needs the input, skills and dedication of the remaining team. Our preference is to bring them in as shareholders too as we like some element of employee ownership. That means Nevis and the management are aligned and working towards the same goal – the long term success of the business.

  • Over time, it isn’t unusual for shareholder goals and objectives to change or for them to diverge. Age profile, risk profile, ambition – any number of reasons can emerge that mean the right thing for the business and its owners is for one or more shareholders to sell. Often people assume that this means the whole business needs to be sold but this isn’t the case.

    At Nevis we’re happy to buy the shares of those shareholders who want to leave and to help and support the shareholders who want to continue the story. While there are often skills that are lost when a shareholder goes, we can bring experience, expertise and a network to help replace them.

100% Acquisitions

Majority Stakes

Minority Stakes

Our criteria

We can be flexible but most businesses we work with will meet at least some of the following criteria:

— Consistent annual profit of £500,000 to £1,500,000.

— A high level of repeat customers.

— Long serving employees.

— Some retainable management.

— UK based.

If your business has some or all of these qualities then give us a call – we’d be delighted to meet and can quickly let you know whether or not we think we’d be a good fit for your business.