Insights
Short, considered pieces from the BusinessWanted.com team, on acquirer behaviour, the mechanics of a private sale, and how the structure of a deal changes what a buyer can actually pay. Our long-form cornerstone Business Guides sit alongside them.
Featured guide
Guide · Selling a business · 15 July 2026 · 25 min read
How owners of profitable UK private companies protect price and terms when buyers hold the stronger position, from readiness and targeted buyer identification through exclusivity, due diligence and completion.
Guide · Selling a business · 15 July 2026 · 25 min read
How owners of profitable UK private companies protect price and terms when buyers hold the stronger position, from readiness and targeted buyer identification through exclusivity, due diligence and completion.
Owner brief · 14 May 2026 · 6 min read
Why owners of profitable UK private companies increasingly prefer a discreet approach over a public sale process, and how a register of verified acquisition mandates changes the arithmetic.
Market note · 2 April 2026 · 5 min read
A short structural note on UK search-fund activity in 2026: deal sizes, sector concentration, and how their mandates read on the register.
Methodology · 10 March 2026 · 4 min read
Verification is neither a stamp nor a credit reference. It is a defined editorial gate: funding position, sector fit, adviser standing, and readiness to transact.
Business valuation · 8 March 2026 · 18 min read
What EBITDA multiples really mean in UK SME valuations, what drives multiples up or down, how enterprise value differs from equity value, and why two buyers can apply different multiples to the same business.
Buyer evaluation · 8 March 2026 · 16 min read
What customer concentration risk means, how buyers calculate it, how it affects valuation and deal structure, and what sellers can do to reduce it before going to market.
Buyer evaluation · 8 March 2026 · 14 min read
What quality of earnings means in UK SME acquisitions, how buyers normalise profit, the common adjustments, and where sellers damage credibility by pushing the numbers too far.
Selling a business · 8 March 2026 · 16 min read
How to structure a sale process so credible buyers feel genuine competitive pressure: improving price, terms, speed and deal security without theatrics or bluffing.
Selling a business · 8 March 2026 · 12 min read
What a buyer-driven market actually means, how it affects UK SME sales, and what sensible sellers do to protect value and keep control of the process.
Acquisition demand · 7 March 2026 · 20 min read
A cornerstone guide to UK sectors where acquisition demand is strongest in 2026: business services, TMT, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, energy transition, logistics, food and drink, education and property services, and what buyers actually want in each.
Sale preparation · 7 March 2026 · 15 min read
A four-stage preparation framework: financial readiness, commercial and operational preparation, people and legal readiness, and staged disclosure, so you engage buyers from strength, not desperation.
Sale costs · 7 March 2026 · 14 min read
The visible costs of selling a UK SME (adviser and legal fees, tax advice, diligence support) and the hidden costs that usually hurt more: distraction, confidentiality leakage, deal failure, and late-stage price chips.
Business valuation · 7 March 2026 · 16 min read
A valuation is an opinion. A sale price is a fact. How UK SME buyers actually value businesses, why two buyers can produce two different prices, and how demand and deal structure close the gap.
Buyer evaluation · 7 March 2026 · 15 min read
The eight pillars of buyer evaluation: quality of earnings, revenue durability, customer concentration, owner dependence, people, systems, defensibility and growth logic, and how to prepare each one.
Owner brief · 18 February 2026 · 5 min read
How family-office mandates read differently from private-equity or search-fund mandates: hold horizon, sector concentration, and the cultural preferences that shape a successful sale.
Owner brief · 20 January 2026 · 4 min read
A short practical guide for owners: what each part of a published mandate actually tells you, and which lines are usually the ones that matter.