Restructuring or Selling Your Business? We Can help

With a completely different financial landscape in front of us due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many business owners are under increasing strain and may be looking to restructure or even sell their company. If you’re being kept up at night deciding what the best strategy is, Hysons are here to help. Discover our business restructuring advice and top tips for succession planning.

I’ve Decided to Restructure – What’s the Best Way to Do This?

Business restructuring is never easy, but if it’s necessary to keep your organisation afloat, there’s a process you can follow to keep stress to a minimum.

Write a Proposal

There are several reasons why a business may need restructuring. Consequently, writing a proposal outlining why roles must change for the company to succeed should be your first action. This will ensure you’ve covered everything and not forgotten any important details. Things to put in your proposal include the strengths and weaknesses of your business’ current structure, the design of the new business model and your strategy for how this will help you achieve long-term success.

Communication is Key

Perhaps most importantly, you need to maintain clear communication with your staff throughout the restructure. This will make them feel part of the process and give them a full understanding of why change is necessary, something vital to continued morale and productivity. Begin by emailing your employees to let them know you’re proposing a business restructure and invite them to a meeting (at least 2 – 3 days later) to learn more. At the meeting, talk through your suggestion of how the restructure should be implemented and encourage staff to provide feedback via email or a further meeting.

Support your Staff

Proposed changes to an employee’s terms and conditions must be stated in writing and provided to the employee with notification that they are entitled to seek independent advice. They must also be given a reasonable opportunity to search for that advice. If redundancies are a possibility, it’s vital that you show an open mind as to what should be done to promote your business’ objectives. Give your staff plenty of notice about the chance of redundancies so that they have time to prepare themselves and line up a new job in case worst comes to worst.

I Want to Sell my Business – How Do I Get it Ready for Sale?

If business restructuring isn’t for you, another option may be to sell, which involves a lot of careful consideration and planning. You need to get your organisation looking as ‘shiny’ as possible before getting it valued by an accountant. Here’s how:

• Sell assets you’re not using, stop investing in long-term projects and put together a realistic financial forecast. The latter should be as accurate as possible to avoid any confusion and misunderstanding.
• Prepare a business plan that includes how well the business is running and plans for growth. This will give potential buyers the confidence that they’re acquiring a successful enterprise with a bright future ahead of it.
• Amend any legal issues or staffing problems. As is the case for business restructuring, employees need to be notified of exactly why you’re looking to sell and kept up to date every step of the way.
• Bring health and safety, cloud solutions, and bookkeeping software up to date. Much of the world is making the transition to a predominantly online, digital workplace. Therefore, investing in modern technology that enables your staff to work remotely will ensure you don’t get left behind by competitors.
• Assess how your website and social media are looking. Your website is the digital hub of your business, so it’s important it functions efficiently and aligns with your brand’s tone of voice. Doing so will help a buyer hit the ground running.

For more information on the above, read our advice on selling your business and succession planning.

Plan for Success with Hysons

Whether you decide to restructure your business or hand it over to someone else, it’s vital that you begin planning this well in advance to maximise your chance of success. At Hysons, Chartered Accountants our team of accounting consultants are on hand to provide expert business restructuring advice and help you with succession planning. We understand re-organising the structure of or preparing to sell your business can be daunting, so take the time to fully understand your specific requirements, giving you peace of mind. Talk to us today about planning for the restructure or sale of your business.