- Business
Elephant’s Child is a business advisory firm that specialises in helping SMEs grow, raise capital and plan for successful exits.
Stepping back from the business you have built from the ground up, often over a period of many years, is never easy. Yet the right advice and guidance can help founders achieve a successful deal and move onto the next stage of life. Below is the case study of a couple we recently advised on selling their business.
Steve and Andrea Garton set up their business Flex Connectors in 1998, before rebranding as flex7 – the name of their smart lighting system – in 2018. Ater deciding the time was right to sell, they contacted their SJP adviser for support. At this point their adviser put them in contact with us here at Elephant’s Child. Together, we helped Steve and Andrew to navigate an unfamiliar and often challenging exit journey. Having achieved more than double the value of the sale initially expected, the Garton’s are now ready to focus on their next venture.
At a glance
- With expert support, flex7 attracted competitive buyer interest and sold for more than double the owners’ original expectations.
- Early financial planning and structured advice helped shape key decisions around timing, valuation and future income.
- The sale enables Steve and Andrea to step away from flex7 and focus on growing their second business, Quickwire.
"I think I'd rather boil my head than go through that ordeal again!” Steve Garton of flex7 said following the sale of the business recently.
Like so many SME owners, Steve and his wife Andrea had no previous experience of selling a business and found the process difficult. However, they were very grateful to have had support along the way. This is their journey:
Steve, a long term entrepreneurial designer, had built flex7 over many years into a successful business designing smart, intelligent lighting control systems. He came up with the concepts and ideas for new products and was very much a hands on business owner.
Alongside this, Steve and Andrea had also grown a second family business, Quickwire. When they first sought advice, their goal was clear: step aside from flex7 and focus their time, energy and financial input on building Quickwire for the next generation. Andrea was also keen for Steve to reduce his working hours or even retire.
At Elephant’s Child we worked closely with the couple and also made sure their SJP adviser was involved throughout the process, to ensure the sale process and timing was structured in the best possible way to fund their future plans. Starting these conversations early, rather than waiting until the sale had gone through, allowed for the best possible outcome in terms of having sufficient replacement income. Steve and Andrea were able to make informed decisions about spending, investing, and gifting and understand the impact of the sale price of the business and their choices on their long-term finances.
The exit journey
Like the vast majority of business owners Steve and Andrea had no prior experience of selling a business. While they had an initial value in mind, the reality of an exit felt complex, unfamiliar and daunting.
The nature of an exit journey meant there were highs and lows, and moments where the process felt overwhelming. At one point, Steve was so frustrated he was ready to sell the business for “whatever we can get”.
However, working with the advisers, a business growth plan was put in place which helped the couple and advisers to understand the true dynamics of the business and identify issues likely to arise during due diligence. As part of this process, their valuation expectations were also sense-checked, and they explored the options of selling immediately versus carrying out further research.
The business planning session highlighted several development areas, including people, systems and processes. As part of this work, a systems and process audit was completed, adding further rigour and insight.
Steve and Andrea also benefited from specialist corporate finance support introduced through their advisers. This support then led buyer engagement and the transaction process, coordinating legal and tax advisers along the way.
As well as the overall project management of the sale process, the advisers played a key role in positioning the business effectively, creating competitive tension between buyers and negotiating the commercial structure of the transaction. This ultimately proved instrumental in achieving a valuation materially ahead of Steve’s original expectations and with a highly favourable deal structure.
While our involvement was lighter during this stage of the process, we remained a steady presence, helping to set expectations, challenging where needed, and providing reassurance when the process felt particularly difficult.
The end result
The process generated strong buyer interest and developed into a competitive bidding situation. Ultimately, the business sold for more than double the sum Steve and Andrea had originally anticipated.
The outcome allowed them to step away from flex7 with confidence and focus fully on the next chapter - investing their time, capital and energy into growing Quickwire for their family’s future.
We work in conjunction with an extensive network of external growth advisers and SME specialists, such as Elephants Child, who have been carefully selected by St. James's Place. The services provided by these specialists are separate and distinct to the services carried out by St.
James's Place and include advice on how to grow your business and prepare your business for sale and exit.
Where the opinions of third parties are offered, these may not necessarily reflect those of St. James's Place.
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