I recently had a phone call from an accountant who wanted to sell his fees.  He was in his mid sixties and thought it was about time he did something about it.   He had been to a seminar, run by his institute, who told him that there was not a ready market for fees of £60,000 or below.  He started the conversation with “I may be wasting your time”….

I found out from him that he works from home and has no staff.  We are often asked by buyers if we have any fees that are portable that do not have staff or office premises.  I was able to let the vendor know that his fees could be of interest to a number of buyers.  This is one of the simplest types of deal that can be done, which means it can be one of the quickest.

However, it can be a deal breaker if the vendor, who works from home, does not charge a market rate for his advice.  Many vendors pass on the saving of not having an office to the clients, which means their charge out rates can be very low.  If the buyer has an hourly rate twice that of the vendor – then a deal is not going to work.  It is always good for the vendor to keep the charge out rates high so that they do not limit the number of buyers when they come to sell.

Luckily this vendor charged a realistic rate for his time and we will soon be finding some buyers for him to meet, who will be keen to make him a good offer to buy his fees.

If you want to contact me about this blog please email me at n.draper@draperhinks.co.uk and quote reference 140429.