Valius Group Limited (company reg number 13892121) is an introducer of businesses for sale to a range of buyers including private individuals, corporates, investors and private equity firms.

Valius exists to connect buyers with businesses for sale in an efficient, smart and speedy way via it’s proprietary business search portal which matches your target search criteria with over 500 businesses for sale at any time. These businesses are derived from business sale brokers, vendor advisers and other corporate financiers all of whom are acting for the sellers/owners of a business. The service operates across the UK. The platform also provides a library of expert knowledge across all appropriate topic areas and also provides regular blog posts through which a buyer can LEARN how to; SEARCH businesses for sale; ENGAGE with sellers and ultimately, ACQUIRE a private business.

Valius acts as your “personal broker” and in particular, champions private buyers, with the sell side advisers. By being a Valius member, you gain instant credibility with sellers’ advisers.

Valius offers buyers knowledge and technical know-how to enable a buyer to navigate the business buying process and offers a library of expert knowledge and useful tips and information on key topics around the process of buying a business and the typical considerations involved.

Valius can also connect buyers with one another to effect a buyout team.

Valius can also refer third party contacts who will help and support you in your transaction.

The key people behind Valius are all entrepreneurs/investors and have either set up their own business and, in some cases, bought into other businesses over the years. The team includes an accountant; a corporate financier; a business coach; a headhunter and a group of designers/developers responsible for the technical and functional aspects of the Valius platform.

1. Private buyers. These can include:

board/management level executives looking for a change from their corporate lifestyle;

serial investors looking for their next acquisition;

any individual who has owned a minority interest in a business and is now keen to explore the acquisition of a majority stake in an SME business in their own right;

any individual looking to explore and understand more about the business purchase market for the first time;

any private individual who is frustrated having tried to research businesses for sale and found resistance from the sellers advisers towards progressing your interest

any private individual who has tried and failed to find the right business for acquisition

2. private equity/venture capital organisations

3. trade or corporate acquirers

• The key resource for private business buyers in the UK
• A consolidator of businesses for sale in the UK
• An educational resource on how to buy a business
• The place to find your corporate acquisition
• A provider of data on companies for sale
• A connector for business buyers needing supporting professional advisers/connections
• A networking hub for like-minded buyers to connect and interact
• An inexpensive resource for corporates/PE firms looking to carry out deal origination activity
• A networking/events company with keynote speakers
• A disruptor in the deal origination space

Valius has access to a whole range of business brokers and vendor advisers across the UK and therefore businesses are for sale across all sectors.

The service includes:

Access to a tech platform through which a buyer can search all relevant businesses for sale. These businesses are derived from business sale brokers, vendor advisers and corporate financiers; all of whom are acting for the sellers/owners of the business. The service operates across the UK at present. There is also a comprehensive library of expert knowledge with over 50 articles and posts covering all aspects of the business buying process. All of these articles are fully visible for paying members on any of the three paid for membership tiers – BuyerBase, BuyerPlus and BuyerPremium. There is also a set of 20 shorter versions of the full articles which can be accessed by anyone when visiting the Home page of the portal. Once there, you will be offered the option to upgrade to a paid membership to access the full articles under one of our three paid for membership tiers listed above. A summary set of 16 of the full articles can also be accessed with a FREE membership by providing us with your key contact information.

Companies which are listed on the platform typically have turnover of less than £10m and corresponding EBITDA of less than £2m. Many of these will be too large for one individual to purchase on their own (subject to the amount of available investment capital an individual may possess). The ones which represent a good prospect for a private individual to purchase typically have turnover of less than £5m and corresponding EBITDA of less than £1m.

Fees for access to the platform are charged to the buyer as a monthly membership/subscription. These fees are offered on a 3 tier basis. You can also pay ahead for an annual contract. Our membership tiers are as follows:

BuyerBase

Helps you learn and search all available deals

£7.99 per month or £80 if purchased for one year in advance, both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of over 17% on the monthly priced service.

BuyerPlus

Helps you learn, search all available deals and engage with the sell side advisers on any deal you like.

£49.99 per month or £299 if purchased for one year in advance, both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of over 50% on the monthly priced service.

BuyerPremium

Helps you learn, search all available deals and engage with the sell side advisers on any deal you like. In addition, the buyer gets two Zoom calls per month with the Valius Head of Corporate Finance for up to 40 minutes at a time, to chat through deal specifics, principles, tactics and strategy. You can also contact our Head of Buyer Support at any time via email regarding any question on general business matters.

£250 per month or £2000 if purchased for one year in advance, both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of 33% on the monthly priced service.

Yes, there is a free account whereby you can access Knowledge Hub information which will give you a summary overview of around 20 of the main topics in the business purchase process. You will be requested to provide some very basic information to register for a free account such as your name and email address. You can register for a free account here.

We do not expect you to work exclusively with us. You may have already generated some connections from your own network. Valius can complement your business acquisition search and provide a highly targeted range of companies from the businesses for sale market which the private buyer is not always able to access in their own right.

This can happen. The buyers will each progress their interest separately through the selling agent. Valius can connect two or more buyers if both are signed up to our BuyerPremium service and this can help to give the parties a greater chance of completing a deal by combining their skills and capital in the form of a buyout team.

The Valius membership model

The only fees payable to Valius are for monthly or annual membership to the portal. These memberships come in three tiers as follows:

1. BuyerBase, £7.99 per month or £80 if purchased for one year in advance. Both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of 17% on the monthly priced service.

2. BuyerPlus, £49.99 per month or £299 if purchased for one year in advance. Both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of 50% on the monthly priced service.

3. BuyerPremium, £250 per month or £2,000 if purchased for one year in advance. Both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of 33% on the monthly priced service.

Other providers of corporate finance services

Many corporate financiers, buy side advisers or accountants who support buyers with their services will charge you a retainer fee to commence their search for businesses for sale, which could be anything from £200 to £5,000. Thereafter, if you are successful in completing a deal to purchase a business through them, there will normally be a completion or success fee, which can be as much as 5% of the transaction value.

Valius does not charge any further fees for the completion of a transaction on a business found on the Valius platform. Guaranteed. This is a huge saving for a buyer and particularly, for any private buyer as these fees would normally be added to the costs of the transaction and be paid at completion, out of total funds raised for the transaction.

Savings to be made

For example, on a £1m transaction, the fee (calculated at 5%) could be £50,000+VAT and on a £2m transaction, it would be £100,000+VAT.

Adding value

Valius doesn’t generate fees from buyers completing deals. Valius offers added value on a monthly/annual membership basis by providing access to a Knowledge Hub containing over 50 articles offering valuable insight into every aspect of the business purchase process and also, by offering access to a directory of over 500 businesses for sale. You can search the directory and, depending upon which tier you’ve signed up for, either (i) see the results or (ii) see and save the results and furthermore, also connect directly from the in-portal Buyer Hub to the Deal Leader on any transaction to progress your own interest. You can also step up to our BuyerPremium membership to connect with our Head of Buyer Support to discuss strategy and tactics on any deal.

Pricing model

For further information, take a look at our Pricing model for the different membership tiers, including a FREE account to get you started on your business purchase journey.

No. There are NO DEAL SUCCESS FEES PAYABLE TO VALIUS. This is a substantial saving for the buyer against other business purchase models operating in the market today.

• Stage 1. The buyer decides to join the Valius membership service and chooses the preferred level of paid for membership and pays for the respective service via the Stripe (or similar) online payment mechanism, whether for the monthly or for the yearly service.
• Stage 2. The buyer can at any time access the Knowledge Hub of over 50 articles and posts covering all aspects of the business acquisition process.
• Stage 3. The buyer completes their own personal search parameters including: turnover / ebitda / location / level of personal capital available for investment / any bespoke requirements.
• Stage 4. The buyer attaches a Curriculum Vitae or other summary document outlining their skills and sector experiences and also provides a Linkedin profile link.
• Stage 5. The buyer conducts their own personal search of businesses for sale and results are shown on screen. If the buyer has chosen one of either the BuyerPlus or BuyerPremium levels, the search is saved in their own secure area within the in-portal BuyerHub.
• Stage 6. To progress any deal with the seller’s agents, the buyer signs the Valius Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) which covers the sharing of all data on the platform.
• Stage 7. The buyer liaises directly with the sell side adviser on each business of interest directly through the BuyerHub.
• Stage 8. If signed up to the BuyerPremium service:
  • (i) the buyer is entitled to two Zoom calls per month (up to 40 minutes per call) with the Valius Head of Buyer Support (a corporate financier) to discuss any aspect of the business buying process.
  • (ii) the buyer can request an introduction to a third party connection provided by Valius to support them with any aspect of the transaction such as corporate finance, accountancy, due diligence, taxation advice, funding, etc.
  • (iii) the buyer can request an introduction to a pension specialist for advice pertaining to the use of a corporate pension scheme to provide the funds necessary to complete an acquisition. Please note, this introduction from Valius shall in itself not constitute advice on the part of Valius and anyone taking up this option does so at their own risk, without recourse to Valius.

Yes there are numerous. These are not delivered directly through the Valius platform at this time but they can be discussed and quoted for separately by a Valius trusted partner. Support could include:

• attending meetings in conjunction with the prospective buyer and liaising with the vendor/vendor advisers;
• search for and liaison with relevant funding partners to provide options on a funding solution;
• deal structuring including valuation and offer;
• deal management;
• business modelling and cashflow forecasting including “what if” scenario planning;
• full negotiations with the sellers and their agents
• progression of the deal through to final purchase completion

Valius is unusual in the market for buying and selling companies. It generates and interacts with private buyers and, through extensive relationships with sell side advisers, it has access to hundreds of businesses for sale at any one time. The Valius platform cleverly matches the two parts to generate a flow of deals for each buyer to consider.

NDAs control the flow of confidential information between parties. They are an essential part of ensuring that market sensitive information is only shared with relevant parties to the transaction. Sell side advisers will not let you progress your interest in one of their businesses for sale until you’ve signed an NDA. Even after signing sometimes there is resistance to release the Information Memorandum. This resistance largely comes from the sellers themselves rather than the advisers – often they are wary of private buyers not offering the right price for a business and secondly, not having the wherewithal to see a transaction through to a successful completion. By being a Valius member you automatically have increased visibility and credibility with the sell side.

• Two scheduled meetings per month, via Zoom, with our Head of Buyer Support for up to 40 minutes per meeting. These calls can cover:
  • Exploring the commercial and practical aspects of buying a business, whether for a current or future transaction.
  • Discussing how to make connections to form a buyout team.
  • Discussing how to make connections with third parties who can support you with a transaction, such as corporate financiers, accountants, due diligence experts, corporate lawyers, tax advisers and funding partners.
• Unlimited access to our Head of Buyer Support, via email, for advice and support on general business matters.
• A link to a pensions specialist who can provide a brief overview of how to use a small self administered pension scheme (SSAS) to make maximum use of a corporate pension for the purposes of a business purchase.

BuyerBase – Learn and Search

Helps you learn and see all available deals

£7.99 per month or £80 if purchased for one year in advance, both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of over £15 (17%) on the monthly priced service.

BuyerPlus – Learn, Search and Engage

Helps you learn, see all available deals and engage with the sell side advisers on any deal you like

£49.99 per month or £299 if purchased for one year in advance, both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of over £300 (50%) on the monthly priced service.

BuyerPremium – Learn, Search, Engage and Acquire

Helps you learn, see all available deals, engage with the sell side advisers on any deal you like. In addition, the buyer is entitled to the followng benefits:

• Two Zoom calls per month (for up to 40 minutes each) to discuss:
  • (i) Exploring the commercial and practical aspects of buying a business, whether for a current or future transaction.
  • (ii) Discussing how to make connections to form a buyout team.
  • (iii) Discussing how to make connections with third parties who can support you with a transaction, such as corporate financiers, accountants, due diligence experts, corporate lawyers, tax advisers and funding partners.

• Unlimited access to our Head of Buyer Support, via email, for advice and support on general business matters.
• A link to a pensions specialist who can provide a brief overview of how to use a small self administered pension scheme (SSAS) to make maximum use of a corporate pension for the purposes of a business purchase.

£250 per month or £2,000 if purchased for one year in advance, both inclusive of VAT at the prevailing rate. This is a saving of £1,000 (33%) on the monthly priced service.

The calls, which last for up to 40 minutes each, can include any aspect pertaining to a business purchase. Typical topics you might like to explore could cover:

• Structure of the deal
• Funding
• Information Memorandum
• Financials
• Marketing pack for funders
• Dealing with due diligence
• Initial introductory call with the sellers and their advisers
• First meeting with the sellers
• How to connect with other buyers to form an investment/buyout team
• How to connect to third parties who can support you with a transaction – for example, corporate financiers, accountants, due diligence experts, corporate lawyers, tax advisers, funding partners and wealth planners
• Brief introduction to the use of a corporate pension scheme, including where appropriate, a referral to a small self administered pension scheme (SSAS) specialist who can advise on making maximum use of a corporate pension scheme for the purposes of a business purchase

Valius gives buyers the opportunity to find a target business by searching over 500 businesses for sale at the touch of a button. The platform enables a buyer to progress interest in any of these businesses directly with the key contact (Deal Leader) at the seller’s advisers via the Valius BuyerHub, where all communication and correspondence between parties is held and stored.

Valius also gives buyers access to a Knowledge Bank of over 50 articles and posts including expert knowledge, tips and know-how to help you gain an understanding of the terminology; the different stages; the key people you’ll need along the way and all manner of related topics throughout your journey to a successful business purchase.  The service operates on a monthly membership basis, with no minimum contract. There is also an option to pay annually in advance, which includes a substantial discount from the monthly price for the service. The platform saves buyers the hassle of having to try and connect with the hundreds of sell side brokers each of whom are selling a small number of businesses at any one time. Valius shows you all the deals in one place. Valius also champion private buyers – by being a member of our community, you get automatic credibility and traction by “piggy-backing” on our goodwill with the sellers’ advisers, which has been generated from over 6 years of effort in supporting buyers to transact on a business purchase. We’ve done the hard work for you so you don’t have to.

The BuyerHub is the area within the portal, which, when you are subscribed to either the BuyerPlus or BuyerPremium memberships, your search results are stored and you can review these on an ongoing basis. Equally, the BuyerHub is the way buyers connect to the seller’s advisers to progress specific deals and the communications and any relevant documents sent between parties are stored there for future review.

Start searching

You can start searching the Valius businesses for sale portal as soon as you are a paying member. In return, not only will you get access to the whole of the Knowledge Hub, but you will also be able to search the database of over 500 businesses based on your own personal search parameters. This will give you a good indication of the sort of businesses which are for sale at that time.

Available information

The details you will see for each business will include sector; sub-sector; location (this will often be broad based due to the confidentiality/sensitivity on the seller’s part); adjusted ebitda; turnover; brief summary details. This snapshot will give you enough information to decide if the business is one which interests you and will help you to decide if you’d like to progress further.

BuyerPlus and BuyerPremium memberships

Any businesses which appear in your search will be stored in your personal area of the in-portal BuyerHub and you can return to review these search results at any time.

Progressing further

If you wish to engage with the sell side advisers, you can do this from within the BuyerHub in one easy click.

Non Disclosure Agreement

To connect with the Deal Leader on any business for sale, you will also need to sign a Valius non disclosure agreement (NDA) which covers you for all the information and interaction between you and Valius on the portal.

Knowledge Hub

With all three paid membership tiers, you have unlimited and unrestricted access to over 50 expert knowledge articles and posts contained within the portal.

The CV is an essential part of how we communicate details about you as a buyer through to the sell side advisers. They will wish to know as much about you and your background as possible in order that they can report back to their client, the sellers, and give them the comfort that you are a serious and credible option. Only by having as much info as possible about any buyer can they do that.

There are many benefits to be gained by working with Valius as your deal origination partner, including:

• No deal fees payable
• Your own personal area within the BuyerHub to store target business search criteria and results
• Unrivalled Knowledge Bank of over 50 articles and posts for private buyers to learn all about the business buying process
• Instant access to sellers’ advisers to liaise on specific deals of interest to you
• Credibility with the sell side advisers by being part of the Valius private buyer community
• Valius champion you to the sellers’ advisers so you have a better chance of success
• Monthly blog articles on relevant topics
• Alerts sent to your own BuyerHub for businesses relevant to your own search criteria
• Over 500 businesses to search from at the touch of a button
• Easy to complete Non Disclosure Agreement sign up process
• Easy searching of businesses on the platform via dropdowns on your key criteria
• Access to a Corporate Finance specialist for a monthly Zoom chat to explore deals
• Ability to become a member for only £7.99 per month inclusive of VAT
• Easy step up to a higher membership tier as you progress your business purchase journey
• Email communication with our Head of Buyer Support to explore topics of your choice

We do not hold any financial information for buyers. All payments buyers make to Valius for our membership services are handled off-platform via the Stripe payment processing software. You can see all the related information, invoices, stored card details, membership tier details, etc by logging into your Stripe account once you’ve become a member of the Valius platform.

The data you complete on your Buyer Profile section of the Valius platform is only ever shared with a third party (being the relevant sell side adviser) at the point at which you express specific interest in a business for sale. The stored information is sent in summary form to the Deal Leader for that business in order that they can assess you as a potential buyer for their client, the seller. Without this information, the sell side adviser will not be able to seriously consider you as a credible buyer.

Sellers will look for one or more of three things when they are assessing a potential buyer:

• A copy of your CV
• Your Linkedin profile page
• The summary information you include within your Buyer profile section on the Valius portal

The Linkedin profile page is useful because it generally gives a really good snapshot of a person’s background experience, their employment history and summary skill sets. This will give the sellers’ advisers a good picture of how relevant you could be to their client.

It’s very easy to find your Linkedin profile page URL address. The way to do it is as follows:

On your profile page, look to the column on the right hand side of the page for “Edit public profile and URL”

Under the section “Edit your custom URL”, locate your public profile URL – it will look something like www.linkedin.com/in/xxxxxxxxxxx

Copy the link for pasting into the Buyer profile section.

It’s as easy as that!!