Succession planning doesn’t have to be as cut-throat and relentless as the hit TV show made it out to be, but understanding your options and ensuring that your chosen route will deliver exactly what you hope to achieve can be a daunting process.

A feasibility study is a great exercise to undertake when you are ready to begin your succession planning but need clarification on what options are best for the shareholders, employees, and business in general.

A feasibility study allows you to evaluate several different exit route options, or your preferred routes, which may be two or three, to determine the potential value based on the business's current and future financial performance, as well as considering the shareholdings.

By comparing different exit options and having the information visible within one report, it is easy to weigh up the pros and cons, which may differ significantly to some businesses than others, as well as the potential of what could be achieved for the shareholders by going down such a succession route.

This isn’t to say that a feasibility study is only an excellent exercise for the current shareholders. It also gives those wishing to acquire shares an insight into the potential value of the business at a given time whilst outlining what it would cost them to buy in at a certain point, given that the financial information is accurate and performance stays on track.

It also allows the shareholders and senior management team (if they are involved in the process) to evaluate how different succession options may impact the team and the business.

Whilst each exit option has its advantages and disadvantages, which can be seen here, the shareholders may automatically reject some routes based on their appetite for risk or favour those which may conclude quicker.

Now that you have the report, what’s next? Luckily, we can deliver the report’s findings to the selected team/shareholders and go through each option clearly, outlining how this could benefit or affect your business specifically. We can help navigate discussions to try and achieve the best outcome for all parties, as, believe it or not, not everybody around the table may have the same preference. This can be tricky to manage in-house, and sometimes having a friendly professional to sound ideas and worries off can make the most significant difference.

If you are interested in beginning your succession planning and have a couple of options you would like to explore, get in touch today or learn more on our Feasibility Study page.