Sell a Business Tips

Selling a Seafood Restaurant

Maybe you're counting on your seafood restaurant to be a stepping stone to your next big business venture. Maybe it's your retirement fund. Either way, you need to maximize the price it gets in the business-for-sale marketplace.

You won't find any magic formulas for selling a seafood restaurant, especially while the market is struggling to overcome the perceptions created by a down economy.

If your exit strategy involves selling a seafood restaurant in this environment, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.

Selling to a Family Member

The idea of passing a business along to a family member sounds idyllic to many business owners. in reality, a family-based seafood restaurant sale can be more complicated than selling to a stranger. Often, a sale to a family member creates fractures within the family. Whether you offer the family member special concessions or not, either the buyer or other family members may take offense. Although it may seem odd, a sale to a family member can take longer than a sale to a stranger because it may take time to work through family issues prior to closing.

Legal Concerns

In a seafood restaurant sale, the Letter of Intent contains the vital elements of the deal between the buyer and the seller . If you are seeking buyer concessions, the time to address them is before the Letter of Intent is drafted. For sellers, that makes a close review of the Letter of Intent more than a formality - it's a critical juncture on the path to closing.

Advertising Your Sale

Successful seafood restaurant sales incorporate comprehensive advertising plans. However, confidentiality and other concerns can present challenges, even for sales professionals. If sale information leaks out, competitors can use it to steal customers and circulate negative messages about your business throughout the industry. Business brokers are skilled at publicizing seafood restaurant sales while maintaining the confidentiality that is critical to your business.

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