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5 reasons why the best time to sell your firm is sooner than it feels
Most firm owners tell themselves (and me!) they’ll sell ‘when the time is right’. But, by then, the firm’s value has already started to slip and the cost of staying increases. Here’s why the best time to exit is sooner than it feels.
Alastair Barlow
May 09, 2026
flinder was sold in 2024 in what my lawyer called “the fastest transaction ever” - and still, we were two years too late.
Growth was top of mind for us at the time. Selling wasn’t. As co-founders, Luke and I had initially considered raising funds to make our own acquisitions. A plan that, on reflection, wasn’t right for us.
But even if I’d known right away that selling would be the better route, I now know that for every day that passes between deciding to sell and selling, the firm will lose some value.
If you’ve ever genuinely thought about selling up (and I don’t mean in moments of frustration when you’ve thought ‘I’d rather be on a beach than dealing with this sh*t’), then sell.
When fresh challenges call, and you’re worried about what the ‘right time’ would be to exit, you’ve already got your answer. Delaying now means less in the bank later. Here’s why.