Mercova Advisory
Sell your company on your terms, before a buyer runs the diligence for you
A 30 day exit readiness review for SMEs and startups that finds the weak spots buyers attack, defends your valuation and gets your business sale ready, on your timeline.
Free 30 minute call, confidential, no obligation.
Why it matters
Unprepared owners leave value on the table
A sale is the largest transaction of your life. Buyers are professionals who do this every week. The gap in preparation is exactly where price is lost.
Buyers attack weak spots
Acquirers and their advisors look for customer concentration, thin margins, owner dependence and messy records, then use each one to chip away at price and add earn out conditions.
Value erodes without prep
Every unanswered question, missing document or unexplained number raises perceived risk. Higher perceived risk means a lower multiple and a slower, more painful process.
You only sell once
There is no second take. Going to market unprepared can cost 10 to 30 percent of enterprise value, or break the deal entirely. Preparation is the highest return work you can do before a sale.
The 30 day review
What the exit readiness review covers
We assess your business the way a serious buyer and their diligence team will, then give you a clear plan to fix what matters before you go to market.
Quality of earnings
We normalize EBITDA, identify add backs and one off items, and test whether your reported profit will hold up under buyer scrutiny. This is the number a buyer pays for.
Customer concentration
We map revenue by customer, contract length and churn risk, and build the narrative that turns concentration from a red flag into a managed, defensible position.
Owner dependence
We assess how much of the business lives in your head and relationships, and define the steps that make it transferable, so a buyer pays for a company, not for you.
Working capital
We establish a normalized working capital level and cash conversion profile, avoiding the last minute price adjustments that catch unprepared sellers off guard at completion.
Documentation & data room
We review contracts, financials, legal and operational records, and set up an M&A ready data room so diligence runs fast and clean instead of stalling the deal.
Indicative valuation range
We provide an evidence based valuation range with the levers that move it, so you go to market with realistic expectations and a clear plan to raise the number.
Deliverables & timeline
A clear plan in 30 days
Structured, senior led work with concrete outputs you can act on immediately, whether you sell next quarter or in three years.
- Week 1 to 2: data gathering, management interviews and quality of earnings analysis
- Week 2 to 3: risk assessment across concentration, owner dependence and working capital
- Week 3 to 4: indicative valuation range and prioritized value creation roadmap
- A written exit readiness report with a scored assessment and clear findings
- A prioritized action list ranked by impact on price and ease of execution
- A data room checklist and structure ready for buyer diligence
- A 90 minute findings session to walk through the report and next steps
Pricing
Transparent, fixed fee engagement
One fixed price for the full review. No hourly billing, no surprises. Optional success fee or follow on advisory if you proceed to a sale.
Exit Readiness Review
Scoped to your size and complexity. Fixed fee agreed before we start.
- Full 30 day exit readiness review
- Quality of earnings and normalized EBITDA analysis
- Risk assessment and indicative valuation range
- Prioritized value creation roadmap
- M&A ready data room checklist
- Senior advisor, no junior handoffs
Start here, free
How sale ready is your business today?
Use the interactive scorecard to explore strengths and risks a buyer may examine, or request a discussion with Mercova about preparing a sale.
- Score your business across the six dimensions buyers scrutinize
- See where your value is most at risk before a buyer finds it
- Identify the priorities to examine before going to market
Request a discussion about sale readiness
Leave your email to ask Mercova about your preparation needs. This is a request for personal follow up.
Prefer to start right now?
Take the interactive scorecardFAQ
Exit readiness, answered
Get your business ready for the strongest possible exit
Book a 30 minute diagnostic call to see where you stand and what a 30 day review would surface for your company.