4 4 · Exit

If it is time to walk, walk well.

Exit is for owners and directors considering sale, succession or a controlled wind-down, and for those who need an honest read on whether the pathway out is the one they actually want.

We help plan the way through with clear advice around timing, value, relationships and control, so the exit you take is the one you can stand behind, not the one circumstances forced.

We don't broker the sale or run the liquidation. We hold the owner's view through the process, so the brokers, accountants, lawyers and appointees you do bring in are all moving in the same direction.

Thryvv adviser speaking with business owners in a consultation.
The hardest part of leaving a business is rarely the day you leave. Exit gets the pathway clear before the decision becomes urgent.
If you're weighing any of this

You are in the right place.

  • A sale is on the table, or being considered
  • Succession to next generation or a key employee
  • A controlled wind-down or solvent liquidation (MVL)
  • An unsolicited offer that needs honest testing
  • Health, age or family driving the timing
  • Retirement is becoming part of the business decision
  • An insolvency appointment that may be unavoidable
  • A liquidator pursuing claims against you personally
  • Personal guarantees or bankruptcy on the horizon
What Exit is

A pathway out, with the owner's view kept whole.

Most exits drift, not from being wrong, but from never being properly planned. A sale begun a year too early, or three too late. A succession that becomes an argument. A wind-down that turns into an insolvency. The pathway you take ends up being the one circumstances chose for you.

Exit gets the path clear: which option is actually right, what it's worth doing now versus later, who needs to be brought along, and what stays in the owner's control. We are independent of the sale, the buyer and the appointment, the advice exists to help you walk well, not to drive a transaction.

How we help

The work, by pathway.

These are the most common Exit engagements. Most owners need two or three of them combined, we shape the work to fit the pathway and the timeline you actually have.

  1. 1

    Business sale planning

    Before the broker is engaged, the business has to be ready to be sold.

    • Sale readiness review
    • Value drivers
    • Owner dependency
    • Pre-sale cleanup
    When it fits A sale is the destination, in twelve to twenty-four months.
  2. 2

    Succession planning

    Generational handover, partner buy-out, or transition to a key employee.

    • Family succession
    • Management buy-out
    • Earn-out structures
    • Governance handover
    When it fits The next operator is already inside the business.
  3. 3

    Controlled wind-down & MVL

    When the right ending is to close the business cleanly.

    • Solvent wind-down
    • Members' voluntary liquidation
    • Tax efficient capital return
    • Director protection
    When it fits The business is solvent but it's time to close.
  4. 4

    Timing review

    Most exits are mistimed by years, not months.

    • Value curve view
    • Market window
    • Owner readiness
    • Sequence vs. sell
    When it fits The decision to exit is made, the timing isn't.
  5. 5

    Insolvency appointment support

    When an external administration, receivership or court-driven liquidation is on the table or imminent.

    • Pre-appointment planning
    • VA vs. liquidation choice
    • Director duty review
    • Information to gather
    When it fits An appointment is days or weeks away.
  6. 6

    Liquidator claim management

    When a liquidator is pursuing claims against directors personally, insolvent trading, unreasonable director-related transactions, loan accounts.

    • Insolvent trading defence
    • Loan account claims
    • Voidable transaction review
    • Settlement negotiation
    When it fits A liquidator's letter has already arrived.
  7. 7

    Personal insolvency assistance

    When personal guarantees, DPNs or unpaid debts have followed the business home.

    • Personal exposure map
    • Bankruptcy alternatives
    • Part IX / Part X review
    • Family asset protection
    When it fits The company exit has personal consequences attached.
  8. 8

    Exit option review

    When the destination isn't obvious yet.

    • Pathway comparison
    • After-tax view
    • Stakeholder fit
    • Decision pack
    When it fits More than one pathway is plausible, none obviously right.
The Exit Test

Four lenses we hold every pathway against.

Every Exit engagement runs the pathway through the same four lenses. Most exits look fine through one or two of them. The good ones survive all four.

If you can name the exit you're considering, we can run it through the test in a single conversation, before any chargeable work begins.

  • 1 · Timing

    Is now actually the right time?

    Where the business sits on its value curve, what the next twelve months change, and whether the timing is being chosen, or imposed by health, market or pressure.

  • 2 · Value

    What is the business actually worth, after tax?

    Honest valuation, structured for the pathway.

  • 3 · Relationships

    Who walks with you, and on what terms?

    Family, partners, staff, key customers, lenders.

  • 4 · Control

    How much of the wheel stays in your hands?

    Some pathways keep the owner driving until handover day.

How it works

From the first call to a pathway that walks well.

  1. Step 1

    Listen.

    A confidential conversation about the exit, timing and people already involved.

  2. Step 2

    Map the pathways.

    We map the realistic pathways against timing, value, relationships and control.

  3. Step 3

    Choose the pathway.

    We test the pathway, agree the destination and shape the work needed.

  4. Step 4

    Walk it well.

    We hold the owner's view alongside the right advisers until the exit is done.

The broker wanted us on the market in eight weeks. Thryvv showed us why waiting twelve months would change the price by a third.

Owner, family-held manufacturing business Approached by two buyers and pushed toward an early sale. Exit-tested the timing, identified the value gaps to close, and ran the planning phase that lifted the eventual sale price materially.
Original timeline 8 weeks
Planned timeline 12 months
Pathway Trade sale
Outcome Materially higher price

Bring us the exit you're considering. We'll plan it.

The first conversation is free and confidential. No commitment, no sales pitch, just an honest read on whether the pathway is the right one, and what the better-shaped version of it might look like.

Free. Confidential. No obligation. We’ll help you work out what matters first.

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