We buy profitable UK businesses. No broker fees.
I built a business to £8.46M with 108 staff. Bought out my partner for A$1.2M in 2023—my first acquisition. Same playbook, different chair.
"Only do work that compounds."
Selling your business in the UK shouldn't look like this.
Most UK business brokers fail to sell over 90% of the businesses they take on. That's not me being unfair — it's their own accounts, analysed by independent broker-rater Clinton Lee.
You'll be charged £3,000 to £45,000 upfront (sometimes more) before a single buyer is contacted. You'll sign a 12 to 24-month exclusivity. You'll be told your business is worth more than it is, to win the listing. You'll spend a year wondering why nothing's happening, and then be told the market's 'soft.'
Then there's what happens after the sale. Most buyers strip the business to fit a spreadsheet. Staff 'rationalised.' Customers handed to a call centre. Culture restructured. The soul stripped out one efficiency at a time. The deal closes. The dismantling starts.
The numbers brokers won't show you
An operator sees things financiers can't.
I've hired and fired. I've made payroll when the bank account said I shouldn't. I've negotiated a co-founder out of a business with a A$1.2 million settlement. I've run marketing campaigns that did $3 million in 30 days. None of that lives on a spreadsheet.
When a firm looks at your business, they see EBITDA and a multiple. They see how fast they can extract returns. When I look at your business, I see the team that's been with you 15 years. I see the customer who's been with you 22. I see the system that runs because of you, and what it'd take to make it run without you.
That's not better marketing. That's a different question being asked. And it's why I buy to hold, not to flip.
"EBITDA is one lens. There are four. The numbers. The transfer. The seller. The structure."
The kind of business I get excited about.
Sector is less important than character. I look at trades, services, B2B, e-commerce brands & professional services. I don't do early-stage, loss-making turnarounds, or anything that doesn't have real cash flow.
Profitable, 3+ years
EBITDA £200k–£500k+. Real cash flow, audited or in clear management accounts. Not promised, not projected — actually there.
Owner-dependent is fine
If the business runs because of you, that's a feature for me, not a bug. I know how to remove founder dependency — I've done it.
UK-based
England, Scotland, Wales, NI. Anywhere outside the M25 is welcome — most of what I look at is regional.
Sectors I know
Trades, services, B2B, e-commerce & professional services. Anything with sticky customers.
You're ready to step back
Whether it's six months or three years — the timeline is yours, not mine.
We can talk like adults
No NDA before a coffee. No deck before a phone call. If we can't have a straight conversation in 30 minutes, we won't have one in 30 hours.
How this is different.
Three options on the table for most UK business owners: a broker, private equity, or me. They're not the same thing. Here's how they actually compare.
|
Brokers
|
PE / Trade
|
Evolve Holdings
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| No upfront fees | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Direct conversation with the principal | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Indicative offer in 14 days | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Close in 60 days | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Your team and culture kept intact | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Held for the long term — not flipped in 3–5 years | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Creative deal structures that can give you multiple income streams | ✕ | Partial | ✓ |
Swipe to compare
Four lenses. Not one.
Most buyers look at your business through a single lens — EBITDA × multiple. Sellers walk away with whatever the spreadsheet says. The Four Lenses ask different questions. They produce different answers.
The numbers
What your accounts actually show, recast properly. The starting point — never the finish line.
The transfer
What runs without you. Team, customers, systems, brand. The real test of what you're actually selling.
The seller
What you actually want, why, and how urgently. Most of the answer to 'is there a deal here' lives here.
The structure
Price and terms move together. The right combination unlocks deals neither side could see at first.
How deals get done.
We move quickly when there's a fit. I'm honest when there isn't. No wasted time on either side.
Get in touch →Initial conversation
30 minutes on the phone. I want to understand the business, the numbers, what you're looking for, and whether there's a fit. No NDA. No deck. No commitment.
Indicative offer
Within 14 days of receiving basic financials, I come back with an indicative structure and valuation range. Honest and specific — not a vague number to anchor later negotiations. If it's not the right fit, I tell you that instead.
Due diligence
Lean. I'm looking at numbers, team, customers, operations — not hunting for reasons to chip the price. If something material comes up, we discuss it openly.
Heads of terms
Plain-English document covering structure, timeline, and key terms. Both sides sign before any legal fees are incurred.
Completion
Solicitors handle the legal work. Target 60 days from heads of terms to completion. We handle the transition together — this isn't a handover and disappear.
Proof, not promises.
This isn't theoretical. Twelve years as an operator. Three countries. I worked with 500+ businesses across my career. The numbers below are real and verifiable.
What an operator client says
I've worked with a lot of agencies supposed to be the best in the world — and found them completely useless. Scott is completely different. He knows the business, gets the work right, and delivers results.
William Whitecloud
Author, The Magician's Way · Founder, Natural Success
What a growth client says
I started as a freelancer, basically at a standstill. Over two and a half years working with Scott weekly, we've built a seven-figure agency. He works at both the macro and the micro — direction, cash flow, and the day-to-day with clients. Invaluable.
Henry Blackwell
Managing Director, Author Digital (New Zealand)
Selling a business? What owners ask.
Straight answers to the questions owners ask before they get in touch.
How do I sell my business without a broker in the UK?
You deal directly with the buyer. Get in touch, we talk, and if your business fits I make an indicative offer within 14 days — no broker fees, no success fees, no public listing. Selling a business without a broker means keeping the 5–10% a brokerage would take, and dealing with the person actually writing the cheque.
How quickly can I sell my business?
Much faster than the industry average of nine to twelve months. If we're a fit, you get an indicative offer in 14 days and we aim to complete in around 60. Selling a business quickly comes down to dealing with one committed buyer instead of waiting for a broker to find one.
How will you value my business?
On its profits and what they rest on. I look at sustainable EBITDA — typically £200k–£500k+ — how transferable the operation is, the team, and how the deal is structured, not just a spreadsheet multiple. You get a clear, justified number, and you're free to test it against any other offer.
Can I sell my business privately and confidentially?
Yes. No public listing, no marketplace, no broker sheet doing the rounds. We talk under NDA, your staff and customers hear nothing until you decide they should, and completed deals are announced jointly — or not at all — on your terms.
What kinds of businesses do you buy?
Profitable UK businesses with three or more years of trading history and roughly £200k–£500k+ EBITDA, whose owners are ready to step back. Owner-dependence isn't a deal-breaker — reducing it is part of what I do after the deal.
What if I'm not ready to sell yet?
Then don't. Many owners spend 12–24 months preparing a business for sale — improving margins, reducing founder-dependency, building the team. That's exactly what the Growth Partner engagement is for, and sometimes it ends with me as the buyer.
Get in Touch
Thinking about selling?
30 minutes is enough to know if there's something worth pursuing. No pitch. No deck. No commitment. Tell me a little about your business and I'll reply within one business day.
Got it — thank you.
Your message is with Scott. Expect a reply within one business day, direct from him.