Transworld Business Advisors of London South West co-owner, Nada Saleh, was given an opportunity to help a business seller achieve his personal goal. What she couldn’t have envisioned was also helping the buyer achieve his dreams.

Transworld Business Advisors of London South West was approached by a young actor who had established a business whilst waiting for his career break. At the moment he met with franchise co-owner, Nada Selah, he found a business broker who understood his business, and his reasons for selling. “The owner had invested in his mobile food truck for nine years and had become a recognisable face at many of the festivals throughout the UK. It was at one of the winter festivals where I first agreed to meet him, and this helped me to really understand how the business operated,” Nada explains.

The mobile food business had originally been on the market for around £130k when Nada was first approached. But the seller had reached a point where he was happy to accept a lower – financially beneficial – offer, if Transworld could help him. “I set about contacting a number of prospective buyers. Because I could see the potential of the business, and had understood the sellers requirements around ensuring the business continued to have a presence at the festivals, it was easy to share his passion with them.”

The buyer Nada found for the business was a lucky find, but perfectly suited. “He had been involved in TV production, but was looking for a business he could operate, around spending time with family in Italy,” Nada explains. “So he understood where the seller was coming from, having been in the industry, and was excited by the prospect of this business. Being at the festivals required the new owner to be on site with the mobile catering van for weeks at a time, which the buyer felt perfectly suited his future plans. He could pick and choose which festivals he wanted to be present at throughout the year, based on his family and the Italian sunshine, whilst earning income which would enable him to not work full time.”

When the buyer had seen the mobile business for himself, and indicated his interest in it, Nada then guided him through the due diligence process. “We looked at the full picture of the business, the health of its finances, its strengths, and any previous challenges the seller had experienced over the nine years he’d been operating. The seller trusted me to manage this process on his behalf. Actually, I really loved this business, so it was easy to support him and the buyer through this stage, and when the buyer made his offer.”

Within any kind of deal, there can – especially toward the end of negotiations – be a sense of deal fatigue. Both parties reach a point when they just want to finalise the deal, which is when the role of a Transworld business broker really comes into its own. “Ensuring you have strong relationships with both parties helps you manage the final stages, when proceedings can become a bit tense,” Nada says. “I knew what mattered to both my seller and my buyer, so was able to keep them focused on the deal when they needed to. As a result, the buyer’s reduced offer was accepted, and the seller was happy with reward of his hard work. Both parties had a dream, and this one deal helped to release both of them into making the dream a reality.”