If you are in the position of wanting to sell you business you will no doubt be aware that there are 1000′s of other businesses on the market so why not try to get to as many people as possible.

If you post the details of your business here on in-business.org.uk it will be free and you never know the buy just might find your details here!

If you wantto remain anonymous to the public and of course to your staff then email us at info@in-business.org.uk and we will hold your details, in confidence, so that potential purchasers can contact us first – the alternative is that you simply set up an anonymous hotmail or yahoo email address and post that on here for people to contact you. Remember hotmail and yahoo email addresses are free – I prefer yahoo becuase they don’t delete your account after 30 days on not visiting the site!

Good luck to those business owners selling their business from in-business.org.uk!

Equally – to investors looking to buy a business please do not hesitate to post your requirements on our website for free too!

Do you run a care business and are you looking to sell it?

We run a care business that specialises in live-in care and we are looking to expand by purchasing other businesses in the same industry.

Our preference is that you also have mostly live in clients in your business.

Please contact us on russell@careathome.org and rest assured we will be as discreet as is necessary.

Alternatively, post a comment on here for me to contact you.

SMG concentrates on TV Scottish media company SMG has reached a deal to sell Virgin Radio – for less than a quarter of the amount it bought the station for.

SMG has sold Virgin to a group led by the Times of India (TIML) for £53.2m.

In 2000, it paid £225m for Chris Evans’ Ginger Media Group, which included Virgin and a TV production company.

SMG plans to use the money to reduce its debts but some of the cash from the sale is expected to be given back to its shareholders.

The sale means SMG is now free to concentrate on its TV channel STV, the ITV station in Central and Northern Scotland.

A statement from SMG said it would pay back £15m to Bank of Scotland as part of its debt agreements, and a further £4m to its pension fund.

Another £1.7m will be retained to give the business “additional headroom and flexibility”, the company said.

“Now is a great period to be entering the UK market and the opportunity to acquire a valuable radio asset couldn’t have come at a better time” AP Parigi TIML

SMG said details of the proposed return of cash to shareholders would be announced in due course.

The buyers of Virgin will have to find a new name for the station.

It will cost them an extra £8m if they decide to licence that brand name within the next two years.

SMG chief executive Rob Woodward said he thought it was a “good deal” for SMG shareholders.

He said: “The disposal of Virgin Radio is consistent with our overall strategy and the proceeds of the sale will allow us to return cash to shareholders, as well as further strengthen an already healthy balance sheet.”

Mr Woodward went on to say that SMG was now “fully focused” on its Scottish-based broadcasting businesses.

TIML chief executive AP Parigi said his company had a “proven track record of building powerhouse brands”.

He said: “Now is a great period to be entering the UK market and the opportunity to acquire a valuable radio asset couldn’t have come at a better time.”

News reported by the BBC

The All Business Class airline Silverjet went into administration this week after it faced major financial problems that forced the company to suspend all its flights. Passengers already booked on flights were left stranded and left just under 10,000 customers needing to make alternative plans at rather short notice!!!

One of the major contributors to Silverjet troubles stems from the soaring cost of fuel – and only this week we have also seen the lorry drivers protest to the Government over rising prices at the pumps. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a number of haulage firms going bust too if oil prices and consequently pump prices continuing to rise, as they have done over the last 12-24 months!

Also, in the airline industry two of Silverjets competitors Maxjet and Eos have both gone out of business too and there are many other carriers struggling and even British Airways put up its fuel surcharge today!

“For sale Silverjet said it was “with deep regret” that it has appointed administrators.” The company have been unable to secure the necessary funding to continue its operations so had to call in the administrator Begbies Traynor. There were interested parties in the potential sale of Silverjet and the administrators seem confident of a sale. Shares in the carrier were suspended earlier this month when it failed to obtain a critical $5m (£2.5m) loan.

The business operated with three Boeing 767 aircraft and flew out of London Luton Airport to New York and Dubai – the average cost of a return fare was around £1,000 and Silverjet started its service in January of 2007.

If you are selling your business you need to initially provide the following information:

Price – This might be stating the obvious, but I have seen many a business for sale where the owner has indicated “price on application”. This is a mistake in my opinion, as you could be wasting both your time and the potential purchaser’s time. Price of the business is possibly a starting point for most investors after the type of business that it is. Most people have a “budget” if you like of what they are looking to invest and if this is omitted you might be closing the door on potential buyers – I for example, tend to give these businesses a miss.

Type of business – I would imagine that the majority of investors will be looking for a specific type of business to invest in, so the business type is a must disclosure.

Profit and turnover – The profitability of your business is a good indicator of how the business is doing and helps the buyer to establish how long it will take him to get a return on his investment. Also, one of the most popular ways to value a business is on a profit multiple so when you disclose the price and the profit a buyer can do a calculation on the valuation multiple.

For example, your profits might be say £100,000 per annum and your purchase price £300,000 – therefore, the multiple is three.

Disclosing the turnover of your business will provide the buyer with an idea of the size of your business too. For example a business producing a profit of £100,000 with a turnover of £200,000 is completely different to one producing the same level of profit, but with a turnover of say £2,000,000.

Business description – Your business description gives you the opportunity to sell your business to a potential buyer. Tell the buyers why you are selling and tell them a bit more about what the business does. How many employees it has and what your involvement is within the company.

Remember, the less reliant on the owner the business is, the more valuable it is to a potential buyer. For example, an electritian that works for himself and serves a number of clients personally – his business is not worth as much in profit multiples as one that has a number of electritians as employees with managers and premises etc.

Looking for an Investor - Investors looking for businesses to invest in! If you have a business that is in need of some investment and not necessarily from a bank you could place a post here on this blog. Are you looking for a Dragon to invest in your existing business or is it a new business you are about to set up?

Do you have some cash to invest and you are looking for a higher rate of return that what the banks offer? You could post your details here and state how much you are looking to invest; the type of business you are looking to invest in; the area of the country you are willing to go to; etc.

Are you looking to buy a business?

Post the details of the type of business you are looking for here; How much you have to invest and the area of the country you can go to. Be as specific as you can so that business owners can contact you and of course put your contact details – email is best on here. However, if you wish to remain anonymous copy this link “Contact via inbusiness.org.uk please” – into your post and then you may use us as your go between for the initial contact point. If you’re unsure on what type of business you want or even the country you wish to invest in, try researching online or check out financing tips on websites like lovemoney.