Chestech LTD

Activity: Chemicals to the electronic industry

Name: Alan Billinghurst

Why did you decide to sell your business?
‘I was coming up to retirement.’

How did you find out about BCMS Corporate and why did you select us to sell your business?
‘I saw an advert or a leaflet and went up to one of your half day seminars in Nottingham. I had been looking around at various organisations advertising selling businesses.’

Did you consider any competitors of ours and if so why did you not use them? If you didn’t consider any competitors, why not?
‘Yes, I’d been to another seminar about a year earlier, a Company who said they could value and sell businesses, but I felt the approach that BCMS Corporate took was better in developing the material and canvassing several hundred potential acquirers. It was different from anyone else’s.’

How did you feel the sale process was managed?
‘Very well, on a scale of 8-9 out of 10, I didn’t have any problems.’

How important was confidentiality and why was this?
‘It was important, from our point of view, that employees were not aware until the very end or near the end. I didn’t want staff thinking we were ‘selling out’ and that they’d have to worry about their jobs. So, yes confidentially was important, and it was maintained.’

Did the sale process affect the everyday management of your company?
‘It took nearly a year in the end and I don’t think it affected us adversely. It did take up a bit of my time, but the way we were structured, with a sales force and technical people supporting customers, it had little affect. Occasionally it was very time consuming for me, but overall it was not too bad.’

Are your staff staying with the company and was this an important factor in the sale process?
‘Yes and they have done.’