1. FREE CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION

The first step in the resort sales process is considering the possibility of selling your company.  For a Confidential Consultation, you don’t need to have finalized your decision to sell.  Whether you’re ready to sell yet we’ll work with you on a current valuation or help you increase your valuation for a future sale. Once we get to a general valuation we can discuss more thoroughly your interest in selling.To help get a valuation completed we’ll need to understand:

• Exactly the type of resort business you own?
• Who are your customers?
• How many employees do you have?
• What is your role in the company?
• What is your annual revenue?
• How much do you personally make from the business? Side benefits?
• Is business going up, down, or stable?
• Why are you considering selling your business?

When we have answers to these questions, we can give you a general valuation of what buyers might be willing to pay for your business. If you’re selling because you’ll be retiring, relocating or for other business opportunities, health issues, partner problems, etc., then it’s probably time to start the sale process, which can take 3 months to 12 months to complete.

2. FINANCIAL INFORMATION – DETAILED REVIEW

We can sign a Confidentiality Agreement before receiving your financial information. Next, we’ll generally request the last three years’ tax returns and a current year-to-date profit and loss statement. At this point we need to know your total owner’s income is, including your salary, benefits, perks, and net income. 

3. AGREE ON A VALUATION & POTENTIAL ASKING PRICE

We will take a look at the trends in your area and ask you some more questions about the business to get a full picture of the strengths and strategic opportunities of the business. Other items include the approximate value of the assets of your business, including any real estate, equipment or other essential assets. This information will be used along with your financial information to compare your business to what other similar companies have sold for. This will allow us to provide guidance on a price for your business. It is your business to sell so we’ll also get to understand what you are willing to sell the business for. Your business is unique but buyers will compare your business to other similar companies to help them decide on the value of the business. This is when you decide if you’d like to have us assist you in selling your business.

4. CREATE MARKETING DOCUMENTS

Usually, at this stage, we have enough information to start working on the initial marketing documents. There are two documents we will need to write.  The first one is sometimes called a Teaser/General Description because it’s designed to give an overview of your business but not too much information that someone can guess what company is being offered for sale. It should be nearly impossible to identify the business we’re selling off of the General Description

Once we have the General Description completed we will need a more detailed financial overview and details on the business in the form of a CIM or Offering Memorandum.

We have expertise in creating these documents but will need your assistance in the collection of your specific business’ information and special details on your business and property.

5. MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

Resorts Brokerage markets your business in several ways and in many places. In addition to our online advertising, we have a potential buyer database of thousands of buyers that we will contact.

We have companies, private equity groups, family offices and individuals that are interested in acquiring each type of resort business we sell. 

6. BUYERS ARE ENGAGED

We have a lot of traffic from our advertising and marketing, we always have a number of interested potential buyers in the resort industry. 

• First we have all buyers sign a confidentiality agreement and provide us with info on their background, skills, and financial capabilities if they are not a known buyer to Resorts Brokerage. 
• We’ll start to narrow down which buyers are qualified and interested so that we can provide details to the correct buyers
• Initial Q & A with Buyer Groups. We set up all information to be shared with all engaged buyers
• Introduce Buyers to you, the Seller. This is a great time for you to get comfortable with the Buyer as they do their due diligence on your business. You want to be open and honest about your business. You should be optimistic but don’t hesitate to discuss potential areas of improvement. Buyers will asl about the expertise of your staff, your customer base, suppliers, your role in the company and other relevant details. 

7. OFFERS & NEGOTIATION

Once buyers have enough knowledge and answers to their questions, we’ll find out which ones are serious enough to make a written offer. With most businesses we sell we get multiple offers, so we’ll go over each offer with you.

If you have several offers that we are discussing with you, together we may decide to focus on the best one or two to see if we can negotiate terms that are acceptable to you. In addition to the price and terms of the payments, we’ll also need to discuss the transition period, what due diligence will be required, and their plans for running the company. We have seen hundreds of offers, so we have experience understanding the various pluses and minuses that are involved in different scenarios.

8. SIGN LETTER OF INTENT & DUE DILIGENCE

Once the terms of the offer letter are agreed to, then both sides will sign a letter of intent. The buyer will usually have a period of 15 to 90 days to complete due diligence. A signed letter of intent will stipulate whether the buyer has an exclusive period during this time where only they can pursue the business while both of you are investing time in the due diligence process.

The amount of due diligence that each buyer requests does vary depending on the size of the deal, the buyer’s background, and the available information. Due diligence is designed to confirm that the business is what was stated to the potential buyer from the seller and broker. In addition, they want to see if there are things that could cause problems for the new buyers, such as pending lawsuits. During the review process, the buyer and their attorney and accountant will have questions. When the information is reviewed and the questions are answered to the satisfaction of the buyer, the next step in the business sale process is for the attorneys to negotiate the purchase agreement.

9. PURCHASE AGREEMENT

Many times, the seller’s attorney will draw up the contract and send it to the buyer’s attorney for their review. Normally there is a give and take between attorneys and buyer and seller with any final terms to be negotiated. If the attorneys can’t agree on how to move forward, then Resorts Brokerage will arrange a conference call or meeting with everyone involved to try to resolve any issues that are preventing the deal from moving forward. Next a Closing Date is set.

10. CLOSING & TRANSITION

The Purchase Agreement has generally been signed before the closing. The closing can be handled in person or virtually with an electronic copy signed, and the funds are paid via wire transfer to a seller’s bank account.

Congratulations, the transaction is Closed!

For any other questions or concerns or to buy a Resort Business, call us at 303-517-2568!