ECE Owners, Are Buyers Calling?
How to Protect Your and Your School’s Best Interests
If You’re Thinking About Selling to a Buyer Directly
With unprecedented demand for childcare businesses and real estate, you’ve likely been approached by one or more strategic or investment groups eager to acquire your school.
Enticing offers and the promise of a smooth transition may have you seriously contemplating the opportunity, but there’s much more to consider than meets the eye.
No Regrets, No Surprises:
Key Questions to Consider
Our team at HINGE Early Education Advisors would welcome the opportunity to educate you further about the transaction process, common pitfalls, and how to make the most of the opportunity to sell your school.
Hungry for more info? Have questions? Want a second opinion?
This is just the start.
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2. Will the agreed-upon sale price be the number you see at closing?
Early education owners who sell without proper representation are often surprised that the number they see at closing can be significantly lower if their financial positioning is not well supported during the buyer’s Quality of Earnings process.
>>> Having a trusted valuation and an advisory team to take the lead on your behalf during the due diligence process will help ensure your earnings and payout withstand buyer scrutiny.
1. Will you get the full value your business and real estate demands?
In the current market, many early education owners are leaving value on the table. Even when big numbers are in play, you may be underselling — by up to 21% in our experience — if you lock in on one buyer without running a competitive process.
>>> Competition drives value. Arm yourself with a strategic, ECE-specific valuation to get an accurate view of your school’s worth in today’s market. Request a free valuation.
4. Do you know all the deal terms you should negotiate, and how far you can push?
Negotiations revolve around much more than value. Transaction agreements are extremely complicated and include numerous points that can and should be negotiated to protect you and your school community with the sale and down the road.
>>> An experienced ECE transaction advisor knows how to negotiate most effectively on a seller’s behalf, how to get you more while keeping the deal intact, and how to make sure you don’t run into any issues post-closing.
3. Are you prepared to navigate a complex transaction process?
Regardless of who you sell to, the transaction process for early education businesses and real estate is more complicated than ever, with increasingly complex financial, tax, legal, diligence, negotiation, licensing, and transition considerations.
>>> Selling directly to a buyer doesn’t mean the transaction is any simpler. An advisory team can lighten the load by spearheading the process, alleviating the day-to-day legwork, and advocating on your behalf.
6. Is this the best culture fit?
Selling your school starts a new chapter for you, your staff, and your students. The more aligned the buyer’s culture is with the tone you set for your school, the smoother the transition and the more confident you’ll feel that your legacy is in good hands.
>>> Exploring your options with a wide range of buyers that you select enables you to handpick the successor best aligned with your mission, values, and curriculum style while still benefiting from competitive financial offers.
5. Are there other options for ensuring confidentiality?
Buyers tout confidentiality as a key reason owners should sell without going to market. However, when an advisor has NDAs and legally binding confidentiality measures, you can reap the benefits of having your school marketed to a large, pre-vetted buyer pool with the utmost discretion.
>>> There’s no need to forego a competitive process due to confidentiality concerns when the right safeguards are in place from start to finish.