How to Sell a Childcare Business and Real Estate: Top Tips for ECE Owners
Selling a childcare business is a big decision that requires a well-informed, thoughtful strategy to ensure it’s the right move for everyone involved. As the nation’s leading expert in growing and selling childcare businesses and real estate, our team at HINGE Early Education Advisors has key insights to share with owners who are considering exiting their centers.
“With strong buyer demand and changing market conditions, now is a smart time for many childcare owners to evaluate their options,” says Kathy Ligon, Founder & CEO of HINGE Early Education Advisors. “Whether you’re looking to retire, pivot to your next chapter, or take your school to the next level, it’s important to know how to realize the full potential of your organization.”
5 Tips for Selling a Early Education or Daycare Business and Real Estate
If you’re looking for direction on how to sell a childcare, early education, or daycare business, start with these steps:
1. Know What Your Business Is Worth
If you’re thinking about putting your childcare business or real estate on the market, considering an offer from a group that has approached you about buying your center, or bringing on an investment partner to fuel your growth, you need to know the true value of your business. An industry- and market-specific childcare valuation provides a clear understanding of what your business and real estate is worth and helps set realistic expectations.
HINGE Advisors offers a free, no-obligation confidential valuation to help you make informed decisions with confidence. Request yours today to take the first step in planning your next move.
2. Understand Your Real Estate’s Role
If you own both a business and its real estate, your options for maximizing your investment increase. The business and real estate should be valued separately, understanding the interplay between the two. With a holistic view of your assets, you can evaluate the benefits of selling your properties or leasing them to a business buyer.
Learn more about how to leverage or sell your early childhood education center’s real estate with HINGE Advisors.
3. Explore Your Options
While it may be tempting to jump at a single offer directly from an industry buyer or large early education group, running a competitive process offers two primary benefits. First, considering offers from multiple buyers allows you to choose the best fit for your business. Ensuring your successor shares your vision and values provides peace of mind, knowing that your students, families, and team are in good hands. Second, healthy competition among buyers can help you maximize the value of the business you’ve worked so hard to build.
“At HINGE Advisors, our competitive process helps childcare sellers receive 21% more value on average compared to considering a single buyer,” adds Ligon.
4. Prioritize Confidentiality
When preparing for a transition, confidentiality is key. Allowing the word to spread about a potential sale can disrupt your school’s operations in a major way and ultimately impact the quality of care for the children. To keep your school running smoothly until you’re ready to make an announcement and support families and staff through the transition, make confidentiality a priority with an advisor who has direct access to buyers without publicly marketing and has proven strategies for including stakeholders in the process in a positive and controlled manner.
5. Choose the Right Advisory Team
Selling a childcare business and real estate is complex. From accurate valuations to confidential marketing to qualified buyers, negotiations, financial processes, legal agreements, due diligence, and more, a seasoned childcare advisory team can help you streamline the process and advocate on your behalf. Selling your school is more than a transaction — it’s a transfer of legacy you’ve built. A partner with extensive early education experience, a well-rounded team of experts, and a seller-friendly model that does not require upfront fees or long-term fee tails provides the most comprehensive value.
For more tips, download HINGE Advisors’ free Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Early Education Business or contact us confidentially!