How to Find Businesses for Sale in the UK: 10 Useful Methods

Whether it’s your first foray into business ownership, or a strategic means of growing your existing company, a well-planned acquisition can be a smart investment. With choosing the right company so crucial though, finding out how to find businesses for sale in the first place is essential to ensure you have the most options available to you.

Even though the acquisition space can sometimes seem closed off to outsiders, there are still multiple methods available to you for finding businesses for sale. Below are just some of the ways in which we’ve found useful over the years.

Contact a business broker

The single best way of finding suitable businesses for sale is to talk to a business brokerage such as ourselves. Of course, we’re perhaps bound to say that, but the truth is that we receive countless enquiries each week from people looking to sell their businesses, so we often have several companies readily awaiting a buyer.

There’s no charge or obligation in ringing to see what companies we currently have for sale. If there’s a particular type of business you’re looking for, you can even leave your details with us so that we can contact you should something suitable present itself in the future.

This method works for the majority of people, but what if this still doesn’t find you the right type of business?

Networking

This can be a powerful way of finding a great deal. It’s often a good idea to be on friendly terms with competitors and those in adjacent industries. Not only does it give you scope to work together on future projects, but you can also be one of their first ports of call if they ever decide to sell up.

The strength of word of mouth and personal recommendation should never be underestimated, so try to build as many genuine relationships as you can. Let people know that you’re in the market for the right acquisition and if something should come up, your extended network may well think of you and let you know.

If you’re happy to spread your net even wider, there are also national networking groups and trade associations that provide forum boards and occasional events that can be useful too.

Speak to suppliers

You’d be surprised at the amount of inside knowledge that suppliers are privy to about their clients. Many directors enjoy good relationships with their suppliers, who they may have been dealing with for several years.

As others in your sector are likely to use the same supplier, they can often be aware of owners looking to buy, sell, expand, and everything in between. Add your suppliers to your extended network by mentioning to them your hopes to buy another business.

Meet with competitors

As an alternative to networking, you can just approach your competitors directly. Set up a friendly meeting over lunch or a round of golf and ask outright whether they’d be interested in merging the two companies.

As one of Forbes Burton’s acquisition advisers, Nicholas Troth has seen this method yield some strong results. “Some of our clients have a particular idea of the type of business they’d like to buy”, Troth says, “but if you wait around for the perfect business to offer itself up for sale, you can be waiting a long time. Instead, it’s often far more fruitful to be proactive and just pick up the phone.”

“Many business owners don’t realise they’d like to sell until the prospect has been put to them. While you may not get many bites initially, you’ll often find one or two directors getting back in touch with you a week or two later after they’ve had time to think”.

eBay/Gumtree/Facebook Marketplace

Perhaps not the best place to find a multi-million-pound company, but you can often find micro-businesses such as food trucks or online retail companies for sale on these platforms.

As a free/low-cost option to list something for sale, some directors will try here first when dipping their toes into selling. As such, you may even find the occasional bigger business with premises available through these avenues.

You’re likely to find a lot of spammy, get-rich-quick schemes listed here though, so tread carefully. You can save a lot of time by setting your filters above a certain price that eliminates a lot of low-quality options.

Platforms such as eBay allow you to set alerts should something that fits your criteria be listed. While this is one of the less likely options to yield a result, it’s free and shouldn’t be discounted.

Join local business associations

There are often associations that act as a networking and guidance hub for local businesses. These can be a great place to contact about possibly buying a nearby company.

Take a drive

If it’s a local business you’re looking for, take a drive around the area looking for ‘for sale’ signs.

It’s as low-tech a method as there is, but sometimes the simplest ideas can yield good results.

Zoopla and other property websites

Among the commercial properties listed on such sites, you can occasionally find companies that are still trading or that offer a turnkey opportunity.

Trade shows

Industry events can be a great opportunity to speak to directors in the same sector. You’ll not only come across firms that provide the same services as your business, but also companies that offer adjacent services.

These can both make for fantastic growth options should they ever become available. Acquiring similar companies to yours can allow you to either strengthen market share if they’re local or branch out into other regions if not. Meanwhile, the purchase of a company that offers adjacent services can provide the opportunity to extend your firm’s product offering instead.

Advertising

Taking out an advertisement can occasionally yield some responses, but like any advertising, it’s only effective when used in the right way.

There are very few places that this method will work in, but trade papers and local business magazines are your best options. There’s no need for anything flashy, just a simple text-based ad that details the kind of business you’re looking for and your contact details will suffice.

Enlist the help of acquisition specialists

Wherever you find your perfect potential purchase, you’ll need the guidance of seasoned professionals to ensure you don’t encounter any common pitfalls.

There are myriad issues to consider when buying a business, and it’s highly recommended that you use a business consultancy that provides help with acquisitions to navigate you safely through the process. Mistakes in the buying stage can potentially cost you dearly in the long term, so hiring a specialist to take care of things for you can allow you to relax while everything is done properly.

Of course, if you’re still looking for the perfect acquisition opportunity, we can help with that too. Forbes Burton has access to an active network of thousands of investors and sellers. Call one of our friendly advisers on 0800 060 8399 or email advice@forbesburton.com to find out what we have available right now.