Looking to buy a small business up to 500k ( any non financial sector)

Looking to buy a small business up to 500k ( any non financial sector)
Where would you find these type of businesses for sale in Ireland.
Either close to liquidation or involvency.

Any advice greatly appreciated?
Thanks

Why would you propose to pay for a business close to liquidation?

Are you a "turnaround" expert? If so, I seriously doubt you'd need to ask how to find these businesses....

I don't recommend this, and I don't think you'll get very far, given the amount you've suggested, but you could have a chat with a few of the insolvency advisory firms, such as Friel Stafford, PWC, Grant Thornton, Interpath etc. In conjunction with their corporate finance teams, they may introduce you to businesses in need of assistance (for a fee).

Why not buy a business that's performing, for example, or set up a business, that doesn't have existing problems, instead ?

I don't think that this idea fits with your self declared risk profile...

We have come into an inheritance of 1.5 million euros after taxes paid. How to invest it? We like a bit of conservative risk!

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In general there is no great website or location to find businesses for sale. I sense many SMEs in Ireland go to the grave with their founders, unlike say the USA which has a culture of buying and selling (and advertising) businesses for sale.

presidenttttt said:

In general there is no great website or location to find businesses for sale. I sense many SMEs in Ireland go to the grave with their founders, unlike say the USA which has a culture of buying and selling (and advertising) businesses for sale.

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It would be a good idea to set up such a website.

DeeKie said:

It would be a good idea to set up such a website.

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It’s not in the interest of most businesses to announce they’re for sale, it would spook staff and customers and quickly destroy any value they might get from a sale. What you tend to see are anonymised prospectuses that are quietly passed around by the various parties engaged in M&A (buyers, advisors etc.). But anonymisation can only go so far in such a small country, so even these would not be something a company would want public.

There is a website called Businessforsale.ie but a lot of it seems to be pyramid selling type opportunities.

Myhome.ie also lists some businesses

You could reach out to liquidation companies and asked to be informed when a business is going into liquidation.

Likewise try Daft etc to see what commercial properties are for sale and in may give you an indication

Any accountancy practice will have clients thinking of retiring.

Are you going to pay the €500k to the owners or put it into the business?

I’d make contact with firms that specialise in insolvency and that SCARP ‘examinership light’ process in particular. You’d then go on their database as someone who’s keen on investing in something like that. e.g. Azets, Interpath, Grant Thornton, etc.

As to whether what you’re exploring is wise, that’s another story.

acquire.com but its digital only

dingdong22 said:

Looking to buy a small business up to 500k ( any non financial sector)
Where would you find these type of businesses for sale in Ireland.
Either close to liquidation or insolvency.

Any advice greatly appreciated?
Thanks

Click to expand...

I am wondering if you want the business per se with a view to revitalizing it. Or whether it's the assets, particularly property, of that business which you want to develop. The former will take a lot of deep study of various propositions, many of whom will have a time deadline on their viability. The latter is far more common these days with green field planning permission so hard to get and no apparent bar on converting commercial premises into residential units.

My view of listings on websites and certain UK listings is that the businesses tend to put their best foot forward. Really you would need to be already in that line of trade to safely evaluate the merits of a given proposition. Have you tried to look around your own area, making quiet enquiries among local small businesses and accountants catering to them ? The benefit of local is that you'll be able to gauge custom/turnover and expenses fairly accurately. If you want to leave your present area and get a small business somewhere else specific, e.g. someone leaving Donegal/Kerry due to climate effects on arthritis and needing to go to the South-East, then it would be wise to get on the ground in the target area during a camper-van holiday and see what's doing.

€500,000 would get you a decent-sized shop (probably with declining custom and in need of significant reinvestment) with maybe a small yard to it. It is likely that the owners will be operating as sole traders and buying separate investment properties, e.g. semi-detached houses in the same town, with their profits. If the current owners are savvy they might have already got outline planning permission for conversion to apartments. If not, and if you have the will to take on this challenge, better still. But be careful to get dependable builders, of course.