Frequently Asked Questions when Buying or Selling a Business

General FAQ’s

Terminology

What is the difference between gross and net profit?

Gross profit is the total revenue minus the cost of goods. Meaning if your business made £100,000 but spent £25,000 on goods/stock – your gross profit would be £75,000.

Net profit is the gross profit (revenue minus cost of goods) minus operating expenses and all other expenses. Meaning if your business made £100,000 but spent £25,000 on goods/stock, £10,000 on postage costs and £15,000 paying staff – your net profit would be £50,000

What is the difference between leasehold and freehold?

Freehold: This means that you completely own the building and the land it stands on outright.
Leasehold: Leasehold means that you have a lease from the freeholder to use the property for a number of years. Leaseholds can vary in length. Ownership of the property returns to the landlord once the lease comes to an end.

What is due diligence?

Due diligence is a comprehensive appraisal of a business carried out by a prospective buyer. It is done so the buyer can establish the business’ assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential. Buyers may want to look at a business’ past accounts, stock counts, staff salaries and much more.

What is a franchise?

When purchasing a franchise business, you are purchasing the license to a business that is already established. The license allows you to trade under that business’ name, usually in a location agreed with the franchisee. Purchasing a franchise usually means you’ll have access to the business’ marketing, operating systems and support. The costs are typically an upfront fee and often a percentage of your profits. Examples of business that are franchises are Subway, Ovenclean and Fit 4 Less.

Your account

How do I reset my password?

To change your password, log in to your ‘My Daltons’ account. Then hover your mouse over the orange My Daltons tab and select ‘change password’ from the drop-down box.

change password

How do I send myself a password reminder?

You can send yourself a reminder by selecting the below orange sign in / register button.

sign in/register link

Next, type your email address and select the ‘forgotten your password’ link, shown below:

sign into your account

How do I change my email address or update my contact details?

Login to your My Daltons account and select ‘edit your details’ from the drop down box (shown below).

Edit your details

How do I set up an email alert?

You can set up email alerts for particular locations or business categories by logging into your My Daltons account and selecting the ‘manage your email alerts’ from the drop down list (shown below).

Manage your email alerts

How do I change my email alert frequency?

You can change the alert frequency from daily to weekly or delete the alert from the ‘Manage your email alerts’ screen in your My Daltons account (see below).

Email alert frequency

Why has my account been deactivated?

Your account may not be working as you have used an incorrect email address when creating your account or you mail box is full.  Accounts are also automatically deactivated if you send more than 50 enquiries in a 24hr period (this is to prevent spam abuse). Please complete our contact form and we will help you to solve this and reactivate your account.


Business Buyer FAQ’s

Your Enquiries

The business I enquired to has disappeared from the listings – what happened?

It’s most likely that the business has now sold or has been removed by the seller.

How do sellers contact me?

Sellers will contact you by email or phone, with the contact details you have provided. We advise our sellers to contact you within 48 hours.

How long does it take to respond?

We ask our sellers to respond within 48 hours, however it may take longer.

What if I have not heard back from a seller within 48hrs?

We do ask that our sellers respond to all enquires but sometimes this isn’t followed. If you received the seller’s contact details in your confirmation email, then we suggest contact them using these. Daltons cannot contact the seller on your behalf.

Can Daltons contact the seller for me?

Our website is a platform to connect buyers and sellers – we cannot contact the seller directly on your behalf.

How do I find the seller reference number?

The seller reference can be found in the confirmation email you receive and also on their advert underneath the image of the business.

Seller reference number

What questions should I be asking the seller?

Here are a number of questions you may consider asking a seller:

  • How old is the business?
  • How long have you owned the business?
  • Why are you selling?
  • Latest annual turnover?
  • Latest annual gross profit?
  • Current rent costs?
  • Is the business leasehold or freehold?
  • Size in square metre?
  • List of rooms/features?
  • Current employees?
  • Opening hours?
  • Does the business come with any stock or equipment?
  • Any recent refurbishments?
  • What’s the local area like?
  • Is there any local competition for the business?
  • Are there areas to grow the business or any planning permissions?

What is a premier buyer and why should I become one?

A premier buy is a paid for membership we offer that allows you to: contact new businesses for sale 2 weeks before standard membership holders, view additional statistics on adverts, access the seller’s personal contact details and send prioritised enquires. See here for more details.


Business Seller FAQ’s

Your advert

Do I have to declare my financial situation on my advert?

No you don’t but we recommend to list as much relevant information as possible, to discourage buyers that may not be right for your business.

How much information about my business should I show in my advert?

Disclose as much information as you feel necessary to encourage enquiries from relevant buyers.

How many categories can I list my business under?

You are able to list your business in up to 5 categories however we recommend just listing under 2.  Look at adverts for similar business to yours to see what they have listed under.

Have I listed my business under enough categories?

We recommend listing your business under 2 categories maximum.  Look at adverts for similar business to yours to see what they have listed under.

Should I add a specific location?

Buyers will often use location as part of their search, so we recommend that you list this accurately.  If you wish not disclose you exact location, we’d suggest least listing the county.

How do I value my business?

You can get a FREE business valuation on Daltons Business. See here for more details.

Can my business remain anonymous and how?

Yes, simply tick ‘confidential sale’ when creating your advert.

Can I monitor or improve my listing? 

Yes, you can see how many times you advert has been viewed and how many enquiries it has received. You can update your advert as many times as you like – you may consider updating the price, description and photos. See our How To Guide on creating an eye-catching advert here.

How many changes can I make and how?

You can update your advert as much as you’d like by logging into your My Daltons account and selecting Edit your business for sale.

Edit your business for sale

How many photos can I upload?

We allow you to upload up to 15 photos. These can be updated and changed as many times as you like.

Can I have a video on my advert?

Yes. You can upload a Youtube video in the ‘Photos, Documents & Videos’ section when creating your advert

Should I include my telephone number?

This is entirely up to you but the majority of our advertisers opt to contact via email.

Does my advert have to say ‘price reduced’, when I reduce the price?

We recommend leaving this as it can help to encourage buyer enquires however if you would like this removed please get in touch with us via our contact form.

How long will my business take to sell?

This varies from business to business. If you are having trouble selling your business, take a look at our How To Guide on selling your business successfully on Daltons Business.

Are Daltons Business agents?

Daltons Business is a platform to connect buyers and sellers and we are not an agent. We work with hundreds of agents throughout the UK who publish their listings on our site though.

What is the “My Daltons” dashboard?

The My Daltons dashboard is your account page where you can manage and update your adverts, email alerts and personal details.

Your enquiries

How do buyers contact me and how do I answer?

Buyers will contact you by completing an enquiry form. The enquiry form will be emailed to you automatically and will contain their contact details for you to get back in touch.

I haven’t had any enquiries – what can I do? See our guide on how to create a successful advert here>>.

What is the sales process once I have an offer – what do I do?

We recommend seeking legal advice and your solicitor will help you to exchange contracts. It is likely the buyer will want to carry out due diligence on the business first, to see establish they are sure they want to buy.

Buyer enquiries are going into my junk folder – what should I do?

Add Daltons Business to your safe senders list.

Payment

Can I pay in installments?

No, sorry we don’t accept payment in installments.

Where is my invoice?

Your most recent invoice can be found in your My Daltons account.

Does Daltons take a percentage of my sale?

No, besides your initial fee to post your advert, you take 100% of your sale.  

Frequently Asked Questions when Buying or Selling a Business