Running a successful early education business takes savvy. After years of operating on thin margins, managing a tight budget, and being resourceful to meet the needs of your school community, it’s natural to be cost-conscious as you plan for your exit.

So why would you pay a transaction advisor to handle the sale of your business and real estate when you can sell directly to a buyer for free?

It’s a valid question.

After all, you’ve built a profitable business. You’ve put yourself in a position to reap the benefits of the risk and investment you’ve shouldered. And reputable buyers are likely already reaching out with offers to acquire your school.

Who wants a “middleman” involved?

You should.

Here’s the reality of why it pays to work with HINGE Early Education Advisors to sell your childcare business and real estate:

Understand your school’s true market value.

Selling yourself short, being in a position where the buyer has the upper hand, and being wooed by a broker promising inflated numbers are big risks for early education owners. Realizing your full market potential starts with getting a specialized ECE valuation that provides a clear, realistic picture of what your business and real estate are worth. To get started or get a second opinion, request a free valuation.

Secure a higher sale price.

HINGE’s competitive process enables childcare sellers to get 21% more value on average compared to offers from a single buyer. That means you’ll walk away with more money in your pocket, even after an advisor fee. We don’t charge any upfront fees and only get paid when we sell your school successfully.

Drive value by getting in front of up to 650+ prequalified education buyers — confidentially.

Our strong relationships and network of reputable early education buyers enable us to identify groups aligned with your goals. With our guidance, you ultimately choose who we market to, leveraging our experts and strict confidentiality measures. Having a pool of compatible buyers compete for your school drives value.

Strengthen your appeal with insider intel on what buyers are looking for.

We have longstanding ties with regional operators, national platforms, private equity groups, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and independent investors. We know what they’re looking for and how to position your school in order to maximize its value in their eyes.

Ensure the agreed-upon sale price is what you see at closing.

Early education owners are often surprised when their EBITDA (the basis of a school’s purchase price) is adjusted down during the buyer’s Quality of Earnings process, leading to a lower-than-expected payout. Our team assures that your financials hold up during due diligence by having ECE financial experts prequalify your numbers before going to market as well as an ECE-specific transaction advisor representing you throughout the process.

Get cash at closing.

We vet every buyer we bring to the table and verify that they have the cash to fund the transaction. Working with cash buyers means they don’t have to get a loan, jump through hoops to get the money, or ask you to take a note. Unless you’re owed future payments, the funds will hit your bank account the day the transaction closes.

Safeguard yourself from legal and tax issues down the line.

The legal agreements required to sell a school are extremely complicated. The 4-8 page Letter of Intent (LOI) that gets the transaction started typically morphs into a legal agreement that’s about 50 pages long and covers everything from financials and earnouts to tax and regulatory liability, indemnification, and much more. We know what should and shouldn’t be included in these contracts and advise sellers’ attorneys on recommended changes all the time to help ensure our clients don’t encounter any problems post-closing.

Supporting the People at the Heart of it All

Of course, there’s so much more to selling your school than dollars and cents. As former childcare business owners and executives, we’ve been in your shoes and know that the softer, human side of an exit matters just as much. That’s why our unique transaction process at HINGE Advisors helps sellers:

Achieve a better culture fit.

Allowing HINGE to run a competitive process allows you to evaluate alignment with many different successors. And, with decades of experience, our personal knowledge about buyers gives you perspective that you won’t find anywhere else. Ultimately, this allows you to carefully select your school’s new owner based on culture fit and the priorities that are most important to you.

Alleviate the day-to-day legwork.

Even if you sell directly to a buyer, the transaction process has become increasingly time and labor-intensive. At HINGE, we’ve doubled our team of ECE transaction advisors, financial analysts, and diligence managers in recent years to manage all of the extensive day-to-day legwork on our sellers’ behalf.

Feel confident and emotionally supported.

Selling a school that you’ve poured your heart and soul into is an emotional decision to begin with. Then there are natural ups and downs along the way at various junctures of the transaction process. The HINGE team is here to guide you at every step for the big stuff, the small stuff, and everything in between. Our clients often tell us we’re their unofficial psychologists, and it’s one of many hats we’re privileged to wear.

“Free” Comes at a Cost

Selling your early education business directly to a buyer for “free” can come with a significant cost that’s not immediately apparent. From a lower sale price and a mountain of work on your plate to misalignment about the future of your legacy and surprises that can jeopardize the deal or come back to haunt you later, the risks are there.

Knowing your options and being fully educated about the benefits of working with a trusted, high-quality firm like HINGE Advisors provides the clarity you deserve. When you look closer, it’s easy to debunk the narrative that advisors just take part of your hard-earned payout and see that we deliver tremendous business value… and so much more.

Ready to Talk?

HINGE Advisors specializes in supporting owners of multi-site and large single-site early education centers. We would love to hear from you, learn about your goals, and share more about how our team of ECE experts can help you successfully sell your school.

Whether you’re ready to sell now or are planning for a future exit, contact us confidentially and one of our advisors will be in touch!