The Exit: Valuations, Mergers & Acquisitions
Whether you're years away from an exit or already in conversation with a buyer, this section covers how UK e-commerce businesses are valued, prepared for sale, and taken through to completion.
Business Valuation & Metrics
The metrics and methods buyers use to value an e-commerce business, and how to prepare your financial and inventory records for scrutiny.
Key Metrics Buyers Look For: LTV, CAC, Margins and Churn Explained
Long before a buyer asks about your product range or your brand story, they will ask for numbers — and the numbers they ask for ar…
Read article →Valuing an E-Commerce Business Using SDE or EBITDA
Two earnings measures dominate e-commerce valuation conversations — Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) for smaller, owner-opera…
Read article →Cleaning Up Financial Books and Inventory Records Before a Sale
Messy books don't just slow down a sale process — they actively destroy value, because every unexplained discrepancy a buyer finds…
Read article →Building a Data Room and Preparing Management Accounts for Sale
A well-organised data room does more than satisfy a due diligence checklist — it signals to a buyer that the business itself is ru…
Read article →Understanding Earn-Outs and Deal Structures in an E-Commerce Sale
Very few e-commerce acquisitions are paid entirely in cash at completion — most deals involve some combination of upfront cash, de…
Read article →Brokers & Aggregators
How to work with e-commerce brokers, aggregators and private equity buyers, and what to expect through due diligence and beyond completion.
Working with E-Commerce Brokers: Empire Flippers, FE International and Beyond
Specialist e-commerce brokers have built deep, active buyer networks specifically for online businesses, and for many sellers they…
Read article →Pitching Your Business to E-Commerce Aggregators and Private Equity
Aggregators and private equity firms buy e-commerce businesses for fundamentally different reasons than an individual owner-operat…
Read article →Navigating Due Diligence and Asset Transfer When Selling
Due diligence is where the deal you thought you'd agreed gets tested line by line, and asset transfer is where ownership actually …
Read article →Choosing Between a Broker Sale, Direct Sale or Auction Process
There is no single correct way to sell an e-commerce business — the right route depends on your business's size, the strength of y…
Read article →Post-Sale Transition Support and Non-Compete Considerations for Founders
Signing the sale and purchase agreement is rarely the true end of a founder's involvement — most deals include a transition period…
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