How to Prepare your Business for Sale and Maximise Value

Introduction

Join us on Tuesday, 30th June 2026 for an exclusive morning event hosted at the London offices of Joelson, one of the capital’s most commercially focused law firms. With arrivals from 8:30am and the session running from 9:00am to 10:30am, this is an intimate, high-value gathering over tea and coffee designed for founders, business owners, and shareholders who are considering a future exit and want a clear, practical understanding of what a well-run sale process looks like.

 

Whether you are in the early stages of thinking about an exit or actively planning one, understanding how to prepare, how to run a competitive process, and how to maximise value is critical. This session is designed to give business owners a candid, behind-the-scenes look at exactly that: drawing on real transaction experience from both a corporate finance and legal perspective.

 

This session brings together the transactional expertise of Bluebox Corporate Finance and the commercial legal insight of Joelson to unpack what it truly takes to achieve an outstanding outcome when selling a business.

 

The Case Study: SchoolHire to ParentPay Group

At the heart of the session, the Bluebox team will take attendees behind the scenes of a recent transaction: the sale of SchoolHire, the UK’s leading online booking and payment platform for school facility hire, to ParentPay Group, a market-leading provider of software and payment solutions.

 

Used here as a case study in process excellence, the SchoolHire transaction is a compelling example of what a well-structured, highly competitive sale process can achieve. Bluebox generated exceptional market interest, securing more than 10 offers from strategic buyers. The Bluebox team will walk attendees through how that level of demand was created, how competing offers were managed, and how the resulting competitive tension was leveraged to drive an outstanding outcome for the founders.

 

The lessons from this deal are applicable to any business owner thinking about exit, regardless of sector. The focus of the session is firmly on the process: how it was built, how it was run, and what made it a success.

 

Attendees will gain practical, actionable insight into:

  1. How to prepare a business effectively for a sale process
  2. How to generate strong buyer interest and build a competitive field
  3. How to manage multiple offers and create genuine competitive tension
  4. What drives valuation and how to maximise it through process
  5. How to navigate buyer engagement, due diligence, and negotiation
  6. The legal considerations and key structuring points in an M&A transaction — from Joelson’s perspective

Agenda

Time Session
8:30am Arrivals, tea & coffee
9:00am Welcome & introductions
9:10am Bluebox Corporate Finance — The SchoolHire deal: strategy, process & outcome (Jon & Tim)
9:40am Joelson — The legal perspective: key considerations in M&A transactions
10:10am Open Q&A and discussion
10:30am Close

 

Speakers

Speaker Role
Jon Rich Managing Director, Bluebox Corporate Finance
Tim Cumming Associate Director, Bluebox Corporate Finance (lead advisor on the SchoolHire transaction)
Phil Hails-Smith Managing Partner, Joelson, speaking on the legal and structuring considerations in M&A transactions

Date

June 30, 2026

Start Time

8:30am

End Time

10:30am

Venue

Joelson Office's, 2 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4DF

Partners

Joelson

Book This Event




    Please review our privacy policy before submitting this form.

    quote marks icon

    Testimonials