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Category: Advisory

Empty offices – no movement in rents!

John Kehoe wrote a piece in the AFR on April 24th about how the “public service ‘ghost’ offices should rile taxpayers.” Seems like a fair point, if employees are now predominantly working from home (WFH), with 57% of public servants in 2023 doing just that, why are governments and others not reducing or renegotiating floor space and rentals?
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Ethical Business Alive or Dead A glance at today’s front page of the AFR and you might be forgiven for thinking ethical business is dead. The calls for Richard Goyder to resign amid claims of unethical customer treatment with the “Ghost Flights” scandal and the illegal sacking of 1,700 workers at Qantas. The leaking of confidential information from treasury to its clients by PwC and we haven’t even turned a page yet!

Ethical Business: Alive or Dead

A glance at last Thursday's front page of the AFR and you might be forgiven for thinking ethical business is dead. The calls for Richard Goyder to resign amid claims of unethical customer treatment with the “Ghost Flights” scandal and the illegal sacking of 1,700 workers at Qantas. The leaking of confidential information from treasury to its clients by PwC and we haven’t even turned a page yet!
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How to Sell a Business Lesson #9: What do I need to do to be ready? The terms “Exit Ready” and “Investor Ready” have become very popular when

How to Sell a Business Lesson #9: What do I need to do to be ready?

The terms “Exit Ready” and “Investor Ready” have become very popular when discussing what might need to happen in the period running up to when an owner might wish to merge or exit their business.
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How to sell a business: Lesson #8 How to sell a business: Lesson #8 Selling your business is an important and significant life event.

How to Sell a Business: Lesson #8: What will it cost me to sell my business? Who do I really need to help me? 

Selling your business is an important and significant life event. Few people get to build an enterprise that somebody else wishes to own and will pay a significant sum for.. Often, it’s the most valuable material asset you own and is the result of a lifetime’s work. When it comes time to sell or merge, it makes sense to do it right.
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Exclusivity period-why bother? An exclusivity period is normally agreed upon between the vendor and the buyer once the headline indicative terms are agreed.

Exclusivity period-why bother?

An exclusivity period is normally agreed upon between the vendor and the buyer once the headline indicative terms are agreed. These terms are typically set subject to due diligence and contract. Whilst these terms are rarely binding (although there are exceptions), they do set a detailed framework for what is going to happen as parties move toward a completed deal.
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What are tyre kickers and how you can avoid them?

What are tyre kickers and how you can avoid them

I was struck by the recent article in the Australian Financial Review by Yolanda Redrup, who quoted a frustrated CEO of Infomedia saying he had “closed the door on tyre kickers”. I have witnessed this frustration many times, where vendors become sick of so-called buyers who turn out to be not serious acquirers.
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How to sell a business: Lesson #7 covers the critical matter of deal structure. Once a willing buyer and a willing seller agree that...

How to Sell a Business Lesson #7: How to fairly structure a deal

Lesson #7 in our series, How to Sell a Business, covers the critical matter of deal structure. Once a willing buyer and a winning seller agree that they wish to transact, how should the transaction be constructed?
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How to sell a business: Lesson #6

How to Sell a Business Lesson #6: How to sell a business when you’re not making a profit?

Businesses in Australia make an average profit of just under 10% of turnover. However, 20% of businesses in Australia don’t make any profit, that’s about 200,000 companies! In Lesson #6 we address the very real question facing those owners who are not making any profit, is my business worth anything?
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Does Size Matter?

How to Sell a Business Lesson #5: Does the Size of my Business Matter to Buyers?

Following on from “How to go about Finding the Right Buyer for my Business” we turn to the subject of size! Does it matter? Size is one part of a buyer’s criteria; the short answer is that it depends on what they are looking for.
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How to Sell a Business: Lesson #4

How to Sell a Business Lesson #4: How to find a needle in a haystack?

Having established that the odds are not great; that the potential buyer that knocks on a seller’s door is the most strategic acquirer for the business (Lesson #1). And that in any event, getting in the ring with a large corporate, without a clear strategy and some input is not optimal (Lesson #2). The question then becomes, if there are many more sellers than buyers in the Australian market in the next decade (Lesson #3), how do you find genuine strategic interest?
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Valuations for tech start-ups fallen

Valuations for tech start-ups have fallen. Why? and What does it mean?

Valuations for tech start-ups have fallen. Why? What does it mean? Five months ago, the market sell-off smashed valuations in the tech. sector. Angel funds felt the brunt of the lower valuations and lower multiples. Many start-ups have lost out.
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What price would you put on working from home?

What price would you put on working from home?

There's a “burgeoning body of evidence” that social media harms young people’s mental health and continuing to use it unjustifiable. This issue affects us all – what is reasonable usage and how much is too much?
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2021 More Challenging than 2020!

Is the unstable geopolitical environment effecting valuations and deal-doing in Australia?

I have been asked this question by owners quite a lot recently. The short answer is not yet, or at least not directly.
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Hybrid work, good or bad for business?

Hybrid work, good or bad for business?

Companies are concerned about the implication of a hybrid working policy on productivity levels, loyalty, team-cohesion, and longevity. The burning questions are: Should work-from-home continue post-pandemic? If so, on what basis? Is hybrid work good or bad for business?
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2021 more challenging than 2020!

2021 More Challenging than 2020!

Two out of three companies reported disruption this year and many companies are not expecting improvements until 2023.
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