Keep your income. Bring in a partner. Step back on your terms.
Most owners over 55 don't actually want to stop working — they want to stop carrying it alone. A phased partnership lets you sell a stake now, keep drawing income, and hand over control at a pace that suits you.
The problem with a full sale
A one-shot exit is rarely the best deal you can do.
A lifetime of income becomes a single lump.
A full sale converts a reliable annual income into one taxable event. Owners routinely mis-deploy the proceeds — property, low-yield investments, family — and quietly regret it inside two years.
Purpose evaporates on day one.
The business isn't just an asset. It's the reason you get up. A clean exit removes the structure, the team, and the identity all at once — with no glidepath back.
The wrong buyer changes what you built.
Trade acquirers restructure. PE integrates. Neither owes anything to the culture, staff or clients you spent decades earning.
The alternative
Sell a stake. Keep your seat. Define the glidepath.
Now
A matched partner acquires a meaningful minority (typically 20–40%). You bank a real sum, retain majority control, and keep drawing your director's income.
Then
Over a defined period — often 3–7 years — the partner increases their stake against agreed performance milestones. You step back on a schedule you set at the start.
How it works
Four steps. Honest about which are live today.
01
List confidentially
Use the listing wizard to describe your business and the shape of partnership you'd consider.
Live now
02
Matched partner introduction
We introduce a pre-qualified operator or investor whose objectives fit yours. Anonymised until you approve.
Launching September 2026
03
Structured glidepath deal
Adviser-supported terms: initial stake, valuation basis, drag/tag, control mechanics, timeline to majority.
Launching September 2026
04
Step back on your terms
You execute the glidepath at the pace you set. Income continues; involvement tapers.
Launching September 2026
Who it's for
Owners with a business worth keeping — and no forced exit timeline.
Partnership deals work when the underlying business is genuinely healthy and the owner has optionality about when — and how much — to step back.
- Owner-operators, typically 55+, planning a phased handover rather than a hard exit.
- Consistently profitable UK SMEs, roughly £500k–£10m enterprise value.
- Owners who value continued income and cultural continuity over a maximum lump sum.
- Businesses without a natural family or internal successor lined up.
Start the conversation
List quietly. Meet a partner when we've found the right one.
Listing is live today. Partner matching begins September 2026 — register early to be in the first cohort.