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Exit Strategy Advisory

Sell the business, not your dependence on it.

The best time to prepare for a sale is well before anyone makes an offer. We work with founders of £5m-£100m businesses to build the leadership team, the story and the readiness that buyers pay for, typically 6-36 months ahead of a sale.

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A man stood on a rock looking out with his arms open, depicting a sense of freedom and success.

How We Help

Exit Readiness & Value Preparation
We start by looking at the exit you want to achieve, or your objectives for becoming exit-ready. Then we review performance, margins and the commercial model the way a buyer would, and resolve what would reduce value before negotiations begin.
You get: a clear picture of what’s holding value back, and a plan to fix it.
Strategic Reverse-Engineering
We identify your most likely strategic and private equity buyers early and work backwards from them. That shapes your equity story, operational priorities and leadership team around what buyers want, not what you assume.
You get: a business shaped around real buyers, not assumptions.
Leadership Succession & De-Risking
We identify, headhunt and embed the senior leaders who allow your business to run without you. We use our own executive search capability, so we build the leadership bench ourselves instead of just recommending that you have one.
You get: a team a buyer can trust, and a founder who is no longer the key risk.

Where We Fit

We prepare the business before it goes to market.

Corporate finance advisers and lawyers are typically engaged once the decision to sell has been made, with the business as it stands. By then, it’s too late to fix what buyers mark down, such as dependence on the founder, a thin second tier or an unproven equity story, or to capture growth the business has left on the table.

We start 6-36 months earlier, when there’s still time to change what buyers see. Then we work alongside the right advisers to take it to market.

Prepare

CJPI: build the team and story buyers want, so the business is ready for the sale you want.

Take to market

Your corporate finance adviser: run the sale process, approach buyers and negotiate.

Complete

Your legal and tax advisers: manage the SPA, diligence and structure.

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What Sets us Apart?

Integrated Advisory Capability
Most advisers know deals, know strategy, or know hiring. We do all three, which is why we can reduce key-person risk instead of just identifying it.
Research-led Approach
We identify and reverse-engineer target acquirers through forensic market intelligence and leadership insight, rather than relying on passive market listing processes.
Director Led
Your life's work deserves senior oversight. Our Directors and senior team lead every step, personally bringing years of experience to your corner. We work with a select number of clients at any one time to ensure focus and dedication.

Clients We Work With

£5m - £100m Typical EV
6-36 Month Typical Horizon

We work with Founders and shareholders of businesses valued at £5m-£100m, planning to exit in the next 6-36 months.

We work with clients typically when:
A buyer has approached you and you're not ready
The business still depends heavily on you
You want out in two to three years and want to build towards it
An investor-backed business is approaching its own exit
You know you want to sell, but not where to start
You're not sure you will sell, but want a business you could sell
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Experience
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Perspective
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Strategy
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What People Say

“What started as an immediate sale became a period of enormous contribution by your team. Working with you was a pleasure and we are so happy with the outcome.”

Founder
Healthcare

"We complete on our deal tomorrow and I just wanted to say thank you so much for helping us through some tough times and guiding us to where we wanted to be."

Co-Founder
Healthcare

“Your approach is totally refreshing. We spoke with brokers who were all focused on "advertising" the business for sale. CJPI focused on what we wanted from the exit and how to reverse engineer that”

Founder
SAAS

“What started as an immediate sale became a period of enormous contribution by your team. Working with you was a pleasure and we are so happy with the outcome.”

Founder
Healthcare

"We complete on our deal tomorrow and I just wanted to say thank you so much for helping us through some tough times and guiding us to where we wanted to be."

Co-Founder
Healthcare

“Your approach is totally refreshing. We spoke with brokers who were all focused on "advertising" the business for sale. CJPI focused on what we wanted from the exit and how to reverse engineer that”

Founder
SAAS
Team Spotlight

Key Contacts

Meet CJPI’s key contacts for our Exit Strategy services.

Chris Percival

Managing Director

Chris is the Managing Director of CJPI and leads primarily on client strategy, working across startups, private equity backed and FTSE/Fortune clients.

Laurie Percival

Director

Laurie has led an AIM-floatation, led a buy-and-build to £480m in revenue and has over 30-years experience in mergers & acquisitions.

Hannah Astbury

Executive Assistant

Hannah has worked with Chris for many years and joined CJPI in 2026 to support the business operations and manage projects.

Tom Wilkins

Senior Associate

Tom has wide experience in M&A on both sides of the fence. He previously led a private investor network as well as roles in Private Equity firms.

Chris Percival

Managing Director

Chris is the Managing Director of CJPI and leads primarily on client strategy, working across startups, private equity backed and FTSE/Fortune clients.

Laurie Percival

Director

Laurie has led an AIM-floatation, led a buy-and-build to £480m in revenue and has over 30-years experience in mergers & acquisitions.

Hannah Astbury

Executive Assistant

Hannah has worked with Chris for many years and joined CJPI in 2026 to support the business operations and manage projects.

Tom Wilkins

Senior Associate

Tom has wide experience in M&A on both sides of the fence. He previously led a private investor network as well as roles in Private Equity firms.

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Request Your Confidential Consultation

Please complete the form below to request a confidential exploratory consultation with one of our Directors to get a no-obligation, candid view of:

how a buyer would see your leadership and readiness today
the key issues most likely to cost you in a sale and the approach to navigating them
a view on whether working together makes sense
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