Planning your exit? Here are five things you need to consider

The tax year reset is in sight, making this time of year a key strategic window for business owners to consider their exit plans. There are material considerations, with the timing of your sale affecting how much tax you ultimately pay and whether you’re eligible for Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) — and the changes to BADR from April 2025 are significant.

The headline 10% CGT rate is gone; the relief now tapers to 14%, then 18% by 2026. That changes the maths materially, and it changes when the right time to sell actually is. But crucially, this time of year offers business owners the space to model scenarios and ensure their exit is properly structured.

Thinking long term

When it comes to planning your exit, you can’t control everything. There are emotional considerations, the maturity of your business, and market timing. If you haven’t thought this through in detail, you’re not alone — 49% of European SME entrepreneurs don’t have a clear exit strategy — but that’s not a planning gap. That’s a wealth destruction risk. The big picture matters enormously, and ignoring it is expensive.

Is timing everything?

Timing isn’t everything, but it matters more than most entrepreneurs realise. Business exits move in cycles, often influenced by fears of higher taxes or shifts in interest rates. Headlines, global markets, and domestic developments all affect a sale, and as such, very few exits ever land in a perfect window.

Before you exit, your business should be performing at its peak. Now imagine trying to time that performance with a sale, achieve the best possible valuation in a market that is constantly shifting, and ensure you’re fully emotionally prepared to step away. It takes serious coordination, and most of it is beyond your control, which is why financial planning is so valuable to entrepreneurs.

Avoid the temptation to rush and sell

The timing might be right for the business, but resist the urge to rush and sell. You need to wait for the right offer and also consider the emotional factors and biases that influence a sale.

It’s flattering to receive a sizeable offer for your business, but you have to consider the wider implications. Is this valuation actually reasonable, or just the first one you have? Are you actually open to exiting your business? What will you do next? They’re big questions, and deserve not to be rushed through.

You’re comfortable with exiting. How ready is your business?

Exiting a business whose systems and processes are reliant on you introduces a risk of it crashing and burning when you’re no longer at the helm. If you’re acquired, any buyer will expect cash flow, revenue, and profits to continue without the ‘you’ factor. You might stay on as an interim adviser, but ultimately, the business has to be mature enough to survive without you.

Crucially, your valuation and exit timing are seriously dependent on the sector. If you’re manufacturing products, you’ll likely see a slower exit and smaller valuations than a rapidly growing, agile tech startup.

The power of emotion in an exit

Selling can be as emotionally charged as retirement, and rarely as linear as the spreadsheets suggest. It’s a stressful period — a major transitional stage, and can trigger feelings of loss as you hand over what you built to someone else. Research reinforces just how deeply personal this is: 55% cite emotional factors as a primary driver, and 44% cite personal wellbeing and family considerations. That’s not soft data — that’s the dominant driver of exit decisions.

If you’re thinking about an exit, look to a financial adviser who genuinely cares. The best advisers don’t just handle the financial complexities — they’re frank about whether it’s actually a good time to sell, they help you think about identity and purpose, not just net proceeds, and they help you picture what life genuinely looks like on the other side.

Navigating your exit — what’s next?

Many entrepreneurs are focused on how they’re exiting a business — from IPOs, VC investments, or a straight sale, and legacy planning often isn’t an immediate priority. But starting this planning early allows you to use available allowances fully. That means maximising ISA and pension contributions in the tax year of a sale, considering EIS or SEIS reinvestment to manage capital gains, and structuring for inheritance tax before the estate crystallises. Done well, this is where significant wealth is either protected or lost.

Financial planning is the difference between going through an exit feeling settled — knowing this decision fits your wider life plan — and finding yourself rudderless six months later, wondering what comes next. A good adviser makes the difficult calls with you, with more in mind than just achieving a high valuation. The business exit is the event. What you do with the proceeds — and who you are without the business — that’s the plan.