Deals & Investment · Succession
For BC owners thinking about selling or handing over in the next one to ten years, and for the buyers looking for established businesses: a clear route, a business ready to be examined, and the right professionals alongside.
Why now
A large share of Canada's small business owners expect to leave their business within a decade. Most have not yet written down how.
76%
of small business owners plan to exit within the next 10 years.
$2 trillion+
in business assets could change hands as they do.
9%
have a formal succession plan in place.
54%
say finding a suitable buyer or successor is their biggest obstacle.
Source: Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), succession research, January 2023.
None of this is a reason to hurry. It is a reason to start while you still have choices: more time means more routes, a better price and a calmer handover.
Routes
Selling a business in BC is rarely one decision. These are the routes owners most often weigh against each other.
Suits: Owners who want a clean exit and the best price the market will pay.
What it takes: Clean records, a business that runs without you, and a buyer who has been properly vetted. This is the route that most rewards early preparation.
Suits: Owners whose children or relatives want to carry the business on.
What it takes: An honest view of whether the successor is ready, a fair way to pay the owner, and a plan for family members who will not take part.
Suits: Owners with a capable team and a wish to protect jobs and the way the business works.
What it takes: A price the team can finance, often over several years, and a handover that does not leave the owner exposed if it goes badly.
Suits: Owners who want an established local business to stay in the region, and Nations looking to acquire businesses or take an equity stake.
What it takes: A buyer with the capacity and the mandate to proceed, financing that fits the size of the deal, and respect for how each Nation makes its decisions. We help set up the conversation and prepare the business; the Nation decides.
Suits: Owners who want to take money off the table but stay involved for a few years.
What it takes: Clear terms on control, on how the remaining shares will be valued and bought, and on what happens if the new partner and the owner disagree.
Nations and Nation-owned development corporations are acquiring established businesses, including from retiring owners. For larger deals, the federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program (now $10 billion, with guarantees from $20 million to $1 billion) supports Indigenous equity investment in major projects. Smaller acquisitions usually need other financing. Source: Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation.
Services
Timeline
Most good exits follow the same three stages.
2 to 3 years out
Tidy the records, reduce dependence on you, renew key contracts and decide which route you prefer.
12 months out
Settle the range, prepare the information pack, and talk to the right buyers without alerting staff or customers.
Sale
Negotiate, complete due diligence and close, with your lawyer and accountant leading the legal and tax work.
Questions
Two to three years before you want to leave is a good aim. If it is sooner than that, we can still do a lot, but you will have fewer routes and less time to improve the numbers.
No. Valuation is done by a licensed valuator, and we coordinate that work. We help you understand what drives value and what a realistic range looks like.
Not until you decide they should. Buyers are introduced through anonymous teasers first, and we share your details only with your permission.
Yes. A management or employee buyout can work well when the team can finance a fair price. We help you test whether it does, and structure it with your lawyer and accountant.
It is possible, and some Nations are actively looking for established businesses. We can help you prepare the business and open the conversation. Whether to proceed is the Nation's decision, made in its own way and in its own time.
It depends on the scope. We agree the fee in writing before we start.
Deals & Investment
The timing of telling staff about a sale depends less on nerve than on deal stage and BC employment law. A staged plan keeps the deal intact and keeps your people informed when it counts.
Photo by Jelly Marketing on Unsplash
Deals & Investment
Owners often price a business from what they need for retirement. Buyers price it from risk and from what a lender will finance, and you can narrow the gap before you sell.
Photo by Olena Kholina on Unsplash
Deals & Investment
Buyers pay for a business that runs without its owner and whose numbers need no explaining. Both take longer to build than most owners expect.
Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash
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Surbiton does not provide legal, immigration, securities or tax advice. Where an engagement needs it, we work alongside licensed professionals. Valuations are carried out by licensed valuators.
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A short, confidential conversation is enough to tell you which route to look at first.