"After 22 years of running a joint owner manager /lifestyle business we felt it was time for a change and decided to attempt to sell our technology business.

Our initial approach was to speak with our chartered accountants and they duly they referred us to a valuation business. This company charged a smallish fee and valued the business based on audited and management accounts. The valuation process completed, and they valued us at a fairly disappointing amount, and we very nearly decided not to pursue the sale process. 

However, being a nicely profitable limited company, we regularly received the “we’ll sell your business” propaganda via post and email, and we decided to speak to a few of these individuals to test the water. All of the companies we spoke to wanted some form of retainer paid upfront and then sizable percentages on completion.

This again did not inspire us with confidence and the prospect of speaking to so many of them made us nervous that clients or staff might find out that we were considering sale and damage the business. 

However, one afternoon my business partner received a call from Matt Dillon of La Salle Corporate and he offered a down to earth, no sale, no fee process. He also said the valuation we had was in his opinion too low. This was a completely different approach from all the others and if I’m honest I thought at the time it was probably too good to be true!

After a little discussion we decided we should meet with Matt Dillon and explore his offerings further. Matt commuted an awful long way to meet us, but out of the box he was respectful, he listened to our concerns and our requirements from the sale process (this was a first!) and he understood the needs for confidentiality. 

Shortly after the meeting we appointed Matt to be our broker and sell the business and within a matter of weeks he was introducing us to possible buyers for us to assess their suitability. Once we had this down to a shortlist he invited offers from them. The offers we received were far in excess of the initial valuation and at this point we knew that selling the business was the right decision.

After several rounds of discussions and negotiations we selected a buyer and accepted an offer.

We moved into the due diligence phase, but at this point we had circumstances change in the business and unfortunately had to pull out of the deal. This was a bitter blow to everyone (us included) and I recall wondering how Matt would take this news after having put so much time and effort into the process and not having billed a penny for it. To my surprise he was very understanding and asked for nothing in return other than the opportunity to represent us should we ever be in the market for sale again. 

At this point we all went our separate ways.

A year later and our circumstances had changed again and we were back in the market for sale. We contacted Matt and he immediately began the same process again and although we were deep in the midst of Covid restrictions he told us that he felt our business was now worth even more.

Once again he asked for nothing in return for his services. 

A few months later we had completed the buyer selection process and moved once again into the due diligence process. What’s more, Matt had delivered an even better offer for the business, just as he had promised.

The due diligence process then continued for a number of months and I have to say this does become painful, particularly in an owner manager business where you are torn between looking after your business and selling it. During this time we had many frustrations and I’m sure our buyers felt the same. But once again Matt was there to keep the peace between us all and at times barter with both parties as to what was possible and realistic. I honestly believe that if he hadn’t been around to mediate between us all the deal would have fallen through. 

Several months and quite a lot of extra grey hairs later the business sale went though. Matt achieved exactly what he said he would. He sold the business for in excess of double the accountant’s valuation. We paid La Salle Corporate their fees and even after paying that, the return was still more than we had asked for.

I have no hesitation in recommending La Salle Corporate to sell any business. Without them on-board our business would not be sold – fact. 

Finally, Matt Dillon. He’s an absolute gentleman, who can keep his cool when all around him are losing theirs. It was a pleasure to pay him his fee, he earned every single penny of it."

“Matt was instructed by Elite Electronic Systems to explore all available options to the company regarding the potential sale of some, or all, of its shareholding.

During our initial discussions, I found Matt to be very professional right from the start. He was completely customer focused and was keen to find out what our needs were and was excellent at stating what potential options were available for us.

As the process progressed and other parties were engaged, Matt kept us completely up to date on scheduled meetings, personnel involved and potential strategies. He also was very much involved in any discussions with interested parties which was very reassuring as it was an arena we had never been in before. Every step of the way, Matt was excellent at keeping us informed regarding developments and discussions.

Once the process neared its conclusion, Matt again excelled at keeping us up to speed on what was happening and stepped in on more than one occasion when events took a more challenging turn. Even at these more difficult moments, Matt was never anything less than a consummate professional and confidential. 

I always felt complete confidence that Matt was acting in our best interests and striving to realise the best opportunity that he could. His communication with us was always frank and to the point and he always provided clarity regardless of how good or bad the news could be.

Matt is still relatively young and his enthusiasm for his job is obvious but his level of knowledge and expertise within his field should not be underestimated. Matt clearly knows the industry inside out and his appreciation of the finer, technical financial points was demonstrated on many occasions. He is passionate about business and I genuinely believe he wants to see his clients and their potential partners succeed.

In summary, I would have no issue in recommending Matt to any other businesses who are wanting to explore the options available to them should they arrive at the same crossroads as ourselves. Matt will give you the confidence right from the start to begin looking at the possible outcomes due to his immediately approachable personality and clear business knowledge. More importantly, he will be with you every step of the way as you start one of the most important, potentially difficult and rewarding journeys of your business life.”

“After 16 years of running and growing my own business the time came to sell, as anyone who has their own business will understand this was an extremely hard decision to make. 

I was supported through the process by Matt Dillon from La Salle Corporate. From my first meeting with Matt it was clear that I was in good hands. 

He helped me navigate my way through the selling process, providing clear direction and support along the way. 

The fact that Matt made himself available to be contacted at any time was very reassuring, especially through some stressful negotiation periods.

I made the right choice in choosing La Salle and highly recommend them and, in particular, Matt to anyone thinking of selling their business.”

“Matt has been absolutely critical to the success of this sale.

His ability to steer you through the very choppy waters that any deal will bring is, to me, essential for anyone about to embark on this process.

I would recommend Matt wholeheartedly and be happy to speak on his behalf.”

“I would like to thank you and your team for selling my business. From the time we decided to put it on the market, Matt gave me full confidence that he would sell our company. From start to finish, the communication was excellent, this included many late night and weekend calls.

Matt recommended Addleshaw Goddard as solicitors, and as a team we worked together to get the deal over the line.

I would just like to say a big thank you to you all, and if I were to do it again I would not hesitate to use Matt and La Salle. Thank you."