MATCH MAKER
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Finding the ideal partner is not just a problem of lonely hearts: transport companies too can search in vain for the right acquisition. A firm specialising in locating buyers for up-for-sale haulage and coach business says it can help.
• So you are thinking of retiring and selling your haulage firm. But you do not want to advertise for fear of upsetting staff or losing customers. Or perhaps you plan to extend your business by taking over an existing transport company. Who do you turn to?
Business Friends, a firm of chartered accountants, specialises in buying and selling truck and coach businesses — in confidence. It works like a dating agency, matching up the details of the 100-plus transport companies it has on its files who want to buy or be bought.
According to managing director Richard Oates about 80% of Business Friends clients are looking to be sold rather than to buy. When Oates and his partner set up two years ago the proportion was even higher, at 95%.
When Business Friends finds a possible match for one of its customers, it approaches them cautiously: "We whet their appetite without giving away too many details. Confidence is the watchword," says Oates. We take it in stages, finding out the level of interest. About 25% do not get past this initial stage."
Business Friends, which has offices in Chelmsford and Manchester, helps buy and sell four or five transport companies a month. "It is not a huge volume, but we specialise in high-value deals," says Oates, who has family links with a coach manufacturer and has worked for a commercial vehicle dealership.
TYPICAL CUSTOMER
A typical customer has a fleet of 20 vehicles and is worth Lim. His clients, however, range from firms with six trucks to public limited companies worth a0m. Transport accounts for 50% of Business Friends' revenue. Other clients on its books include car dealerships and inventors looking for backing.
Oates charges between 1-5% of the value of a successful deal in commission. This works out at about 00,000 for a Lim transaction. He says the benefit of having a smooth transition from one owner to the next makes it worth it.
The firm's service will become increasingly important after 1992 as UK transport companies look to acquire abroad and foreigners seek British firms says Oates. It is making contact with chambers of commerce on the Continent and hopes to open a Swiss office.
He insists his firm does not take on "lame-duck" companies which are going out of business and want to cut their losses by finding a buyer. "We are only interested in firms which are wellestablished and with good profit records. We don't want people who are Looking for excessive prices or with high elements of goodwill, as this is difficult to substantiate," he says.
Sometimes it will turn down a potential customer if it feels the time is not right for it to sell. "We'll tell them to come back in two years when business is better. Often we are fairly blunt. We do that on purpose," he says. It will also scrutinise a willing purchaser. [fit feels, for instance, that it is borrowing a lot to take on the company, it will advise against that buyer. The company's advertising cites current examples of firms on its books. Buyers are tempted by offers Like: "Transport/haulage company south of Manchester. Established over 10 years with excellent profit potential and freehold site with modern office"; or: "Operator south of Glasgow with large site, welllocated near trunk road."
Although companies cannot be identified through the adverts, they say enough to attract potential buyers, says Oates. And Business Friends does not break client confidence, as all examples are used with the permission of the seller.
Contact Business Friends on 061-831 7116 or (0272) 308849.