Why Most Business Sales Won't Leave the Starting Line in 2026

A Grounded Kick Off to Selling Your Business in 2026

If you’re reading this in early 2026, there’s a fair chance you’ve had one of the following thoughts over Christmas and New Year:

• “I can’t do another year of this.”

• “Maybe this is the year I finally sell.”

• “I wonder what the business is actually worth.”

• “If I don’t do it now, I never will.”

And if you’re anything like most business owners, you’ve then immediately distracted yourself by arguing about the heating, eating too many mince pies, and promising to yourself that you’ll “sort it in January.”

Good.

January is exactly when serious exits should begin. Not because of motivational quotes and fresh diaries. Because if you want a proper sale, at the right price, on the right terms, this is when the groundwork needs to start.

First, let’s clear something up: selling your business is not a transaction, it’s a project

Most business owners assume selling a business is like selling a house:

• Put it on the market.

• Get a few viewings.

• Pick the best offer.

• Pop the champagne.

In reality, selling a business is closer to:

• Preparing the house for sale while still living in it.

• Trying to keep it spotless.

• Then having the buyer question your mortgage, and interrogate you

• And then negotiating for six months.

A business sale is not a single event. It’s a structured project.

The business does not sell itself. And the market does not reward procrastination.

So if you’re genuinely thinking “this is the year,” treat it like a business project from day one.

2026 could be a strong year for selling your business… if you show up prepared.

There are always buyers. Trade buyers. Private investors. PE. Search funds. Strategic acquirers. Competitors. Family offices. Management teams.

But here’s what most owners miss:

Buyers are not short of businesses. They are short of good businesses with clean numbers and clear reasons to buy.

The businesses that sell well are the ones that look like they are already investable.

The businesses that struggle are the ones that feel like a job with risk attached.

So 2026 can absolutely be a strong year for business sales, but only if you do the work to become “buyable” rather than “sellable.”

Buyable means:

• A business that does not fall apart without you

• Recurring income or repeat business

• Strong margins and stable cash flow

• Clean accounts and proper reporting

• A sensible management structure

• A clear story about what the buyer gets

That’s it. Simple.

Not easy. But simple.

The truth about valuation: the market decides, not you

Every year, business owners wake up and declare:

“I want £2 million for my business.”

As if it’s a personal wish list.

The market does not care what you want. It doesn’t even care what you’ve suffered. It only cares what the buyer believes they are getting and how certain they are about it.

The value of your business is driven by:

• Profit quality

• Reliability of the numbers

• Risk

• Transferability

• Growth potential

• Buyer appetite

Not by:

• How hard you worked

• How long you’ve been doing it

• How much you need to retire

That may sound harsh, but it’s actually good news. Because it means you can influence value by improving the right things, not by arguing.

If you want a higher price, improve the business fundamentals and reduce buyer risk.

2026 exit mistake number one: waiting for the perfect time

There is no perfect time.

There is only:

• the right deal

• the right buyer

• the right structure

• the right readiness level

Most people wait for a “clean year,” then something happens:

• your best staff member leaves

• the market shifts

• a competitor takes your biggest client

• you fall out with a supplier

• you get exhausted

• you change your mind

• you drift

If you’re thinking about selling in 2026, start the preparation now, even if you end up selling in 2027.

Because the preparation improves your business anyway.

And a stronger business gives you options. That’s what you actually want.

Buyers are not looking for perfection. They are looking for certainty.

I’ll tell you something that surprises most business owners:

Buyers can handle imperfections. They cannot handle uncertainty.

• If you tell a buyer, “we don’t really track that, but we know it’s fine,” you’ve just injected risk.

• If you tell them, “that’s how we’ve always done it,” you’ve just injected uncertainty.

• If you tell them, “we can’t prove it, but trust me,” you’ve just injected doubt.

And doubt kills deals.

Certainty sells businesses.

Even if the business isn’t perfect, a buyer can price a problem if they understand it.

They cannot price chaos.

Your 2026 business sales checklist

If you want to be serious about selling this year, here’s what matters.

1. Get your numbers clean and defensible

If your accounts are late, vague, messy, or adjusted every other week, sort it now. Buyers will dig. They will find weaknesses. They will use them.

Aim for:

• accurate monthly management accounts

• clear profit and loss by product or service

• customer concentration analysis

• clean balance sheet

• consistent reporting

2. Reduce reliance on you

If you are the business, the business is a risk.

Build a structure where:

• operations run without you

• sales is not dependent on you

• key client relationships are shared

• suppliers are managed by others

• decisions are documented

Buyers pay more for businesses that don’t need the owner to survive.

3. Sort contracts, compliance and loose ends

This sounds boring. It is boring. It is also where deals die.

Buyers want:

• clear customer contracts where possible

• employee contracts and proper HR records

• clean leases and supplier agreements

• proper licences and accreditations

• clean data protection and regulatory compliance

The bigger the deal, the less tolerance there is for “we’ve never needed that.”

4. Strengthen the story

A business sale is not just numbers. It’s a narrative.

A buyer needs to understand:

• what the business does

• why it makes money

• what makes it defensible

• what the buyer can do with it

• what growth looks like

• why you are selling

If your story sounds like:

“I’m tired”

you’ll be treated like a distressed seller.

If your story sounds like:

“The business is strong, but I’m planning the next stage”

you’ll be treated like a strategic exit.

Same situation. Completely different outcome.

5. Decide what you want from the sale

This is where grown adults suddenly behave like teenagers.

Owners often don’t decide what they actually want until they’re halfway into a deal, and then they sabotage it.

Before you start, decide:

• do you want full exit or partial exit?

• do you want cash out or earn out?

• do you want to stay involved or walk away?

• do you want the best price or the safest deal?

• do you care who buys it?

The right deal depends on your priorities.

If your plan is to “test the market,” here’s your warning

“Testing the market” is one of the most dangerous phrases in business sales.

Because what it usually means is:

“I haven’t prepared, I haven’t decided, and I don’t want to commit.”

Buyers can smell that. Advisers can smell that. Even your staff can smell that.

And testing the market often leads to:

• wasted time

• unnecessary exposure

• weak buyer engagement

• low offers

• you feeling insulted

• you pulling the business off the market

• and doing the same thing again next year

If you want to explore a sale, explore it properly with a structured approach.

That doesn’t mean rushing. It means being deliberate.

The best reason to sell in 2026 is not money. It’s freedom.

Yes, you want a fair price. You deserve one.

But the deeper motivation is usually something like:

• getting your life back

• protecting your future

• avoiding another five years of stress

• making sure the business lives on

• giving your team a secure future

• finally cashing in on what you’ve built

A good sale is not just a payday.

• It’s an outcome.

• It’s a turning point.

• It’s the closing of a chapter that took everything you had.

So if you’re thinking about selling this year, don’t treat it like a casual idea.

Treat it like a plan.

Final thought: you don’t need to be ready to sell. You need to be ready to start.

Most owners delay because they think they need everything perfect before they begin.

You don’t.

You just need enough clarity to start moving in the right direction.

A proper sale process improves the business, sharpens the numbers, strengthens your positioning, and gives you options.

And options are what protect you.

Contact us today

If you’re considering selling your business in 2026 and want a grounded conversation about what’s realistic, what your business might be worth, and what needs to happen next, we can help.

Either way, the first step is a sensible discussion, not a commitment.

Contact Us Today