Business Exit Financing
and Sale Advisory
Last updated: August 2026
Most owners selling a business are not looking for a loan. They are looking for a buyer who can actually close. Custom Capital Advisors works the exit from both sides: we help you establish what your business is objectively worth, we introduce you to vetted buyers from our network of private equity firms, brokerages, and seasoned operators, and we make sure the buyer's financing is real before you take your business off the market.
That last part is where most small-business sales fall apart. A buyer with an unfinanced offer is not a buyer. Because we broker the acquisition financing side of these transactions every day, we can tell the difference early, which is usually the difference between a deal that closes and a year you do not get back.
We are a brokerage and an advisory firm, not a lender, and we do not buy businesses ourselves. Our interest is in getting you to a close with a buyer you are comfortable handing the keys to.
How do you know when it is the right time to sell?
There is no universal answer, but the owners who get the cleanest outcomes tend to share a few things. Use these as a self-check before you talk to anyone, including us.
- Your financials are clean and current. Three years of tax returns and up-to-date financial statements that a third party can follow without you in the room. This single factor moves valuations more than almost anything else an owner can control.
- The business runs without you in it daily. A company that depends entirely on the founder is harder to sell and sells for less, because the buyer is purchasing a job rather than an asset.
- Revenue is stable or growing. Selling into a decline is possible, but it narrows the buyer pool and it moves the conversation toward asset value rather than enterprise value.
- You are not selling under pressure. A forced timeline is the most expensive thing you can bring to a negotiation.
- You know what you want after the close. Full exit, a transition period, or seller financing with an ongoing stake. Each attracts a different buyer.
If several of these are not true yet, the most valuable thing we can do is tell you that and talk through what a year of preparation would be worth. We would rather have that conversation than run a process that will not close.
What are my options for exiting the business?
Every owner we talk to is choosing among a small number of real paths, and they trade off against each other in predictable ways. Here is how we compare them.
| Exit path | Who the buyer is | Typical timeline | What you trade away | Best fit when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sale to a private equity firm | An institutional buyer, often building a platform in your sector | Longer, with heavier diligence | Control, and usually a clean break is not available immediately | The business is large enough to be a platform or bolt-on, and you will accept a rollover stake |
| Sale to a strategic buyer | A competitor or an adjacent company | Moderate | Your team and brand may be absorbed | The buyer gets more from the business than you can, so they can pay more |
| Sale to an individual operator | An experienced operator, often SBA-financed | Moderate, gated by the buyer's loan approval | Certainty of close, since it depends on the buyer's financing | You care about the business continuing as it is, under a named person |
| Management or employee buyout | The people already running it | Longer, often seller-financed | Usually price, in exchange for continuity | Legacy and your team's future matter more than the last dollar |
| Wind down and asset sale | Buyers of specific equipment, inventory, or real estate | Shortest | Enterprise value entirely, you recover asset value only | There is no going concern to sell, only assets |
Most of the transactions we work sit in the $3 to $5 million range, and we can work deals up to roughly $7 million. Businesses with hard assets (equipment, real estate, inventory) tend to draw the widest buyer interest, because those assets give the buyer's lender something to secure against. If you are also thinking through whether to bring in a partner or investor instead of selling outright, our guide on equity financing vs debt financing covers how those two paths compare at the decision point.
How does the buyer's financing affect my sale?
More than most sellers expect. If your buyer is an individual operator or a small group rather than an institution, their financing usually determines your closing date and your risk of the deal collapsing.
A common route for that buyer is an SBA 7(a) loan, which the SBA permits for a change of ownership and which goes up to $5 million (sba.gov). SBA acquisition loans can carry maturities of up to 10 years, which is what makes the payments work on a purchase of this size. The tradeoff is process: SBA underwriting is thorough and it is not fast.
- The buyer is strong but slow. The approval is likely; the calendar is the problem. Bridge capital on the buyer's side can hold the transaction together while the SBA file works through underwriting. See our guide on using a bridge loan while waiting for SBA approval.
- The buyer is fast but thin. An offer arrives with financing that will not survive diligence. We would rather identify that in week one than in month five, and knowing what the acquisition financing market will actually support is how we do it.
If you want to see the transaction from the other side of the table, our business acquisition financing page lays out what your buyer is going through.
What is my business actually worth?
Honestly: nobody can tell you from a phone call, and you should be skeptical of anyone who does. Valuation on a business this size comes out of your financial statements, your customer concentration, how dependent the business is on you, the quality of your assets, and what comparable businesses in your sector have recently sold for.
What we do is establish an objective enterprise value you can defend in a negotiation, rather than an aspirational number that costs you credibility with the first serious buyer. Where intellectual property is a meaningful part of the value, we bring in an independent valuation firm that specializes in intellectual property rather than estimating it ourselves.
We do not charge you to have this conversation, and it does not commit you to selling.
When is selling not the right move?
- You need cash, not an exit. Selling the company to solve a cash-flow problem is the most expensive way to solve a cash-flow problem. If the underlying business is sound, look at working capital options first.
- You are carrying stacked short-term debt. Clean this up before you go to market. Buyers and their lenders will find it in diligence, and it will cost you more in a renegotiated price than it would to address beforehand.
- You want out in 30 days. That timeline points to an asset sale, not a going-concern sale, and it will leave enterprise value on the table.
- The business is one large customer. Concentration risk is the single most common reason an offer gets repriced late. It is usually fixable, but not quickly.
How we work toward a close
Getting to know each other
Introductory calls to understand the business and what you want out of the transition, followed by diligence on our side to map the realistic options.
Establishing value
We build an objective enterprise value from your financials and comparable transactions, so you go to market with a defensible number rather than a hopeful one.
Finding the right successor
We go through our network of private equity firms, brokerages, and seasoned operators to find buyers who fit what you want for the business, and we verify that their financing is real before you take the business off the market.
Working toward close
Offers, negotiation, diligence, and financing run in parallel. In the right circumstances a transaction can close in as little as 60 days, though timelines vary considerably with deal structure and the buyer's financing.
Common questions
Ready to talk through your exit?
Bring us your financials and your goals. We will tell you what is realistic, what a buyer will ask for, and whether preparation or a sale makes more sense.
Start a conversation