Business Services

Azur offer a range of business services such as valuations, organic and acquisition focussed growth services and business exit services for those looking at exiting or divesting part of their business.

Valuation Services

Valuations can be required for many different purposes: to raise capital, for bank finance, for tax purposes, for restructuring, to assist in a dispute and to understand what you should pay for a business or what you could sell it for.

Services include valuing businesses, shareholding, goodwill, intellectual property or contracts.

We provide a comprehensive valuation service, which includes:

Adherence to relevant national and international valuation standards
Business and industry risk assessment and outlook
Analysis, understanding and interpretation of historical and forecast financial information
Understanding value drivers, products and services, suppliers and customers
Identifying and explaining normal and not normal business income and expenses
Considering and selecting appropriate valuation methods
Assessing relevant earning criteria and future earnings
Assessing what assets and liabilities are required to run the business
Analysing and interpreting comparable company and comparable transaction data
Considering relevant issues such as discounts for lack of control and discounts for lack of marketability
Rules of thumb and cross checks

Business Exit Services

Are you considering at some point existing your business or divesting part of your business? How are you going to do and whom are you going to sell too? Azur can help. We provide a confidential, comprehensive and controlled lead advisory service. We test to see if your business is really ready for sale and advise what needs to be done to get it ready for a sale. We advise on value, value drivers and potential sales pitfalls.

We prepare an information memorandum and sales teaser document. We identify potential buyers locally and internationally and approach those buyers in a confidential and timely manner, in order to create a competitive bid process. We coordinate the due diligence process, negotiate on your behalf, advise on agreement terms and close the deal.

The advantages for you to using Azur for selling your business include:

Confidential discreet service. Essential so your competitors, suppliers, customers and staff are not aware of the process. If word leaks out that you are selling, it can be disruptive to the business, for example, employees may feel concerned and leave and competitors may start poaching clients.
Professional advisory approach. Selling your business can be a long, emotional and time intensive process. Azur looks after the whole process for you, so you can concentrate on running your business.
Assess whether you are ready to sell. We will first review your business and identify issues that need resolving before going to market. We will also identify areas that could be improved to increase the market value and issues that could be deal breakers.
Defined plan. As the sales process progresses discussions can become frustratingly protracted. Time can be wasted and the business operations can suffer as a consequence. We provide a defined plan and timeframe for parties to agree and stick to, to ensure the process moves along in a timely manner and the parties understand their responsibilities.
Competitive bid process. We will identify potential buyers, locally and internationally as well as potential private and institutional investors. We aim to get as many as possible bidders in the process to maximise the sales price.
Co-ordinated due diligence. We initially carry out internal due diligence on your business and put together essential documents. We can then set up a secure data centre and assemble the information. We deal with the many questions that the buying team ask.
Negotiations. We assist in the negotiations to ensure you understand what you are agreeing to and that you get the best deal.
Contract and completion. We can advise you on the practical terms of the memorandum of understanding and sales and purchase agreement. We can assist in the completion process and ensure that the parties exchange.

Organic Growth

Do you want your business to grow? How are you going to grow it? Which products and services are you going to focus on?

Developing current products or identifying new products and services? Selling more products or new products to current customers or identifying new customers? How can you leverage your competitive advantage? Can you secure supplier exclusivity? Can you retain outstanding staff? How strong is your brand?

Azur can help you grow your business. We can facilitate the development of a strategic and marketing plan and support you in implementing that plan. We can assist you in preparing budgets and forecasts, identify resource requirements such as staffing and infrastructure, assist in brand and business development.

Acquisition Growth

Are you looking at buying a business?
Buyer beware! Are you prepared?
How much should you pay?
What are the pitfalls?
Are there any skeletons in the closet?
Should you buy the shares or the business?
What is the goodwill made up of?
Is it worth it?
How is the goodwill going to be transferred?
Are the seller and key staff going to stay on after the acquisition?
How are you going to finance the deal?
How are you going to structure it, eg. will you have ear-out provisions?
Are customer and supplier contracts in place and if so how likely are they to be transferred?

Azur can help you. We can identify potential targets, both locally and overseas, and make contact confidentially on your behalf. We can carry out a full buyer’s due diligence for you. We can identify the profit drivers of the business. We can identify the key risks and whether you should go ahead with the acquisition. We can value the target, guide you on what you should pay, how you should structure the deal and what sort of warranties and indemnities you should expect. We can assist in the negotiations on your behalf and advise on the offer based on the due diligence. Following the acquisition we can assist you in the important post integration phase.