Retiring from practice is more than agreeing a price. You need a buyer who can support the relationships you have built, a handover you can deliver and payment terms you understand.
1. Decide how far you want to step back
Write down your ideal last working day, the hours you would accept during a transition and whether you want any continuing client work. A full sale may suit a complete exit. A merger or sell-and-stay arrangement may suit a gradual reduction in responsibility. A fee-block sale can reduce workload while you retain part of the practice.
Compare the practical differences in our mergers and exit-planning guide. A phased exit should have clear responsibilities and an agreed endpoint, not an open-ended expectation that you will remain available.
2. Establish what is being sold and what it may be worth
Separate recurring fees from one-off projects, document your service mix and examine profit after a realistic allowance for replacing your own work. Identify clients who depend heavily on you, large fee concentrations and capacity gaps a buyer would inherit.
A headline multiple is only a starting point. Read the consolidated practice valuation guide or request a confidential accountancy practice valuation.
3. Prepare a confidential information pack
- Recent accounts and a reconciled recurring-fee schedule.
- An anonymised client analysis by service, fee band and concentration.
- Staff roles, working arrangements and key responsibilities.
- Premises, software, workflow and other continuing commitments.
- Your current duties and proposed handover capacity.
- Known issues and a plan to address them openly.
Start with anonymised information. Peter can screen interested buyers and arrange confidentiality checks before identifying details are shared. The sale-readiness checklist explains what to organise.
4. Compare the buyer, not just the offer
Ask how the buyer will support clients and staff, whether it has capacity, how funding will work and who will lead integration. Compare upfront and deferred consideration, retention adjustments, security and your post-sale obligations. A larger stated price is not automatically a better outcome.
5. Agree a handover you can actually complete
Plan who tells clients and when, which relationships need personal introductions, how records will move securely and who owns each deadline. Define the duration, hours and remuneration of any continuing role. Have your legal, tax and professional advisers check the arrangements relevant to your circumstances.
What if retirement is still two years away?
Use the time to improve records, share client relationships across the team and reduce work that depends on you alone. Our 24-month preparation plan turns that work into manageable stages. There is no guaranteed sale timetable: preparation, buyer fit and due diligence all affect timing.
Can I begin without committing to a sale?
Yes. An initial conversation with Peter is confidential and without obligation. Outline your location, approximate recurring fees, preferred timescale and any non-negotiable requirements; you do not need to send a named client list at the outset.