Dealing with business owners day in day out we find it startling how so few have have a considered exit strategy in place. Many believe that when the time comes to retire or move on to something else, all will simply fall into place. The reality is far from that and due to external market factors, timing and planning is crucial in this decision in order to receive maximum value for what will most likely be a business owners most valuable and prized asset.

We are now almost two months into 2013 and we thought this would be a good time to analyze the trends we have seen thus far and make our predictions for the following 10 months. Well, to say we are pleased with what we have seen so far would be a gross understatement. Activity is soaring, well beyond what we could have expected, which is great news for sellers. In such an active market with heightened levels of demand for mid-market companies, owners generally receive high sale values due to the increased competition.

Last week, Benchmark International attended RealDeals’ UK Mid-Market event at the Lancaster London Hotel, bringing together 300 delegates from the most acquisitive private equity organisations across the UK and Europe.