bizbritain guides
The guide library
Every article we’ve published, newest first. Filter by topic or search for the question in front of you. Cited, dated, and quietly updated when policy or rates change.
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Buying a business with staff: what TUPE means for the price and your loan
TUPE when buying a business: which staff contracts, holiday and claims move across to you, and how to reflect them in the price and your loan.
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Due diligence when buying a business: five things your lender will check
Due diligence when buying a business also builds the evidence your lender needs. The five areas it checks, and the gaps that slow a decision down.
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How to value a business you want to buy: what a lender will actually fund
How to value a business to buy the way a lender does: the profit it uses, the addbacks that stand up, and what to do when the asking price is more than the bank will fund.
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Asset sale or share sale? What changes when you fund the business you are buying
Asset sale vs share sale: buy the company, or buy its parts. What each one changes about tax, staff, old debts and what a lender will lend against.
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How an earn-out works when you buy a business from a retiring owner
An earn-out lets you pay part of the price for a business later, if agreed targets are met. Here is how it works with a retiring seller, and how a lender sees it.
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Management buyout finance without a deposit: what changes when the team cannot put cash in
Management buyout finance usually assumes the team funds 10% to 30% of the price. When it cannot, vendor loan notes, earn-outs, a sponsor or a government guarantee change the stack. Here is how, and what each costs you.
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How to buy a business with no money down in the UK
How to buy a business with none of your own money, what the finance stack actually looks like, and why going in with nothing in reserve is a risk you have to plan for.
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Buying a business in 2026: what falling insolvencies mean for your timing
UK business insolvencies fell 19% in August. If you have been waiting for a weaker market to hand you a cheaper deal, the numbers have just moved the other way.
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What the Whitbread closures mean if you want to buy a pub
Whitbread closes 261 pub-restaurants this week. Less is settled about the buildings than the coverage suggests, and being ready matters more than watching listings.
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What is the UK equivalent of an SBA loan?
The UK equivalent of an SBA loan is not one scheme but two: the Growth Guarantee Scheme and Start Up Loans. How they map, and where the map breaks down.
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Funding a buy-and-build: how roll-up acquisitions get financed
How a buy-and-build strategy is financed: the platform acquisition stack, a revolver for the bolt-ons, and what lenders want to see before deal two.
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Can you buy a business with no money down in the UK?
Can you buy a business with no money down in the UK? Usually no, occasionally yes. The three mechanisms that are real, and what they cost you instead of cash.
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