Sale-ready report
Harbour Lane Bakery Ltd
Food production and retail · Prepared by Buckle Barton · 21 October 2026
Sample dataWith you on the journey
Sellability
Work to do
Data room ready
Documents a buyer will ask for
Indicative value
£420k – £588k
2.5x – 3.5x profit. Indicative, not a valuation.
Harbour Lane Bakery is a profitable, growing business that a buyer would want. Turnover rose from £1.25m to £1.4m and profit is £168k. Today a buyer's due diligence would find three things that cut the price: you hold every key relationship yourself, one café chain is 30% of sales with no contract, and the main lease has a break in 14 months. There is also £620k of cash in the company that we should talk through before any sale. None of this is unusual, and we'll work through it with you.
What a buyer's due diligence will find
One café chain is 30% of salesQuestionnaire
About £420k of your £1.4m turnover comes from one customer, with no written contract. Buyers usually ask for a retention or earn-out when one customer is over 20%.
Customer & supplier concentration
You hold every supplier and key customer relationshipQuestionnaire
You bake most mornings, run the café chain account and deal with every supplier. A buyer will worry the business walks out of the door with you.
Key-person risk
Main site lease has a break in 14 monthsQuestionnaire
The Harbour Lane lease can be ended by the landlord in 14 months. A buyer's solicitor will flag this as a risk to the main site.
Legals & contracts
Large cash balance could affect Business Asset Disposal ReliefQuestionnaire
The company holds around £620k of cash, well above what the bakery needs to trade. Surplus cash can put trading status, and so BADR, at risk. Discuss with your accountant.
Tax & owner exit position
Management accounts are quarterly, not monthlyQuestionnaire
Buyers expect monthly figures to test the £168k profit and the growth trend.
Financials
Pillar by pillar
Corporate & Companies House
72- Accounts and confirmation statement filed on time
- One director and one PSC (100%), matching what you told us
- One old charge is marked satisfied; check the paperwork is in the data room
Evidence
- Company active, filings up to dateCompanies House
- Owner holds 100% of the sharesQuestionnaire
- No insolvency noticesThe Gazette
Missing documents: Board minutes (last 3 years)
No discount expected. Keeps due diligence quick.
Legals & contracts
48- Main lease has a landlord break in 14 months
- Café chain supply is not under a written contract
- Brand and domain are held by you personally, not the company
Evidence
- Harbour Lane lease break in 14 monthsQuestionnaire
- Only some customers on written contractsQuestionnaire
- IP owned personallyQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Top 10 customer contracts, IP register (trademarks, domains), Disputes and claims log
Roughly 0.3x off the multiple until the lease is extended; likely a condition of sale.
Compliance & regulatory
74- Food hygiene rating 5 at both sites
- Insurance in place, VAT and PAYE up to date
- Privacy and GDPR records not yet in the data room
Evidence
- FSA food hygiene rating 5 (example look-up)FSA hygiene ratings
- No HMRC arrearsQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Privacy policy and GDPR records
No discount expected. A real strength for a food business.
HR & people
52- 22 staff, most but not all on signed contracts
- No EMI or share option scheme to keep key people through a sale
- Capable head baker at the market hall site
Evidence
- 22 staffQuestionnaire
- No EMI schemeQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Employment contracts (all staff), Staff handbook and policies, Share option / EMI documents
Roughly 0.1x off; buyers may ask for key staff retention.
Financials
58- Sales up 12% to £1.4m, profit £168k (12% margin)
- Management accounts only quarterly
- £620k cash held, far above working capital needs
Evidence
- Turnover £1.4m, up from £1.25mQuestionnaire
- Adjusted profit £168kQuestionnaire
- Cash about £620kQuestionnaire
- Statutory accounts for 3 years providedUploaded document
Missing documents: Monthly management accounts (last 12 months), Budget for this year, Schedule of owner add-backs and one-offs
Roughly 0.2x off until monthly figures prove the profit.
Key-person risk
28- Business would struggle to run 3 months without you
- You hold every supplier relationship and the café chain account
- No second tier yet able to run both sites
Evidence
- 3-month test: only with real difficultyQuestionnaire
- Owner holds main customer and supplier relationshipsQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Owner role and handover plan, Key staff notice and restrictive covenants, Customer and supplier relationship map
Roughly 0.5x off the multiple, or a long earn-out keeping you in the business.
Customer & supplier concentration
38- Top customer is 30% of sales (over the 20% buyers look for)
- Top supplier is 22% of spend (flour), single source
- Top 5 customers are 48% of sales
Evidence
- Top customer 30%, top five 48%Questionnaire
- Top supplier 22% of spendQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Spend by supplier, Customer churn and retention data
Roughly 0.5x off, or a retention clause tied to the café chain.
Operations & systems
45- Recipes written down; ordering, pricing and opening routines are not
- No regular KPI pack
Evidence
- Processes partly documentedQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Operations manual / documented processes, KPI dashboard, Data ownership and backup policy
Roughly 0.1x off; mainly supports the key-person fix.
Market & growth story
70- Spare weekday kitchen capacity for wholesale
- Clear third-site plan a buyer can pick up
Evidence
- Third shop and wholesale growth plannedQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Business plan / growth story, Customer reviews summary
Supports the upper end of the range.
Tax & owner exit position
50- Surplus cash may put trading status and BADR at risk
- You appear to meet the 5% and 2-year BADR tests
- No EMI scheme to reward staff tax-efficiently on a sale
Evidence
- 100% owner, working in the business for over 2 yearsQuestionnaire
- Cash about £620kQuestionnaire
Missing documents: Dividend and owner pay history
Affects what you keep after tax rather than the price.
Indicative value range
£420k – £588k
2.5x – 3.5x adjusted annual profit (after a market salary for the owner) of £168k
With the fixes below: 3.5x – 4.5x, or £588k – £756k.
Bakeries of this size usually sell for 2.5 to 3.5 times adjusted profit, plus surplus cash. Fixing the key-person and café chain risks could move that to 3.5 to 4.5 times, roughly £170k more on today's profit.
Indicative, not a valuation. This range is based on typical profit multiples for similar businesses and the information available. A formal valuation would look at much more.
Top 10 fixes
Ranked by value uplift for the effort involved.
- 1
Put a written contract in place with the café chain
30% of sales rest on an informal arrangement. What to do: Agree a 2 to 3 year supply agreement with pricing and notice terms.
Uplift: HighEffort: LowCould add about 0.3x (around £50k)
How Buckle Barton can help · Corporate Finance. We'll help you put a value on the account and go into the talks with confidence. - 2
Move to monthly management accounts
Quarterly figures make the £168k profit harder to prove. What to do: A monthly P&L by site, with gross margin and wages as a % of sales.
Uplift: MediumEffort: LowCould add about 0.2x and shorten due diligence
How Buckle Barton can help · Bookkeeping & Payroll, Accounts. We can take on the bookkeeping and give you clear monthly figures by site. - 3
Talk to us about the £620k cash before anything else
Surplus cash can affect trading status and BADR. What to do: Review how much cash the bakery needs and options for the rest. Discuss with your accountant.
Uplift: HighEffort: LowProtects what you keep after tax
How Buckle Barton can help · Taxation. We'll look at your cash, pay and pension options together, well ahead of any sale. - 4
Hand the supplier relationships to the team
You deal with every supplier yourself. What to do: Introduce your head baker to the main suppliers and give them ordering authority.
Uplift: HighEffort: MediumPart of a 0.5x key-person uplift
How Buckle Barton can help · Consultancy. We'll work through a handover plan with you, one relationship at a time. - 5
Open lease talks for Harbour Lane now
A break in 14 months is a deal-stopper for most buyers. What to do: Seek a new 10-year lease, or remove the landlord break.
Uplift: HighEffort: MediumRemoves a likely 0.3x discount
How Buckle Barton can help · Company Secretarial. We'll keep the lease and company records in order and work alongside your solicitor. - 6
Appoint a production manager
The business still relies on you every morning. What to do: Promote or hire someone to run both sites day to day.
Uplift: HighEffort: HighPart of a 0.5x key-person uplift
How Buckle Barton can help · Consultancy. We'll help shape the role and check the numbers work before you hire. - 7
Move the brand and domain into the company
A buyer buys the company, not your personal assets. What to do: Transfer the trading name, logo and domain to the company.
Uplift: LowEffort: LowAvoids a condition of sale
How Buckle Barton can help · Company Secretarial. We'll handle the paperwork and update the company records. - 8
Set up an EMI scheme for key staff
Key people may leave during a sale without a reason to stay. What to do: Grant options to the head baker and future production manager.
Uplift: MediumEffort: MediumReduces retention risk
How Buckle Barton can help · Taxation. We'll design and value the scheme and handle the HMRC notifications. - 9
Win more independent café customers
Spreading wholesale sales reduces the café chain risk. What to do: Use spare weekday capacity to add 5 new accounts.
Uplift: MediumEffort: MediumBrings top customer below 25%
How Buckle Barton can help · Corporate Finance. We'll model pricing and capacity so growth adds profit, not just sales. - 10
Write the operations manual
Ordering, pricing and opening routines live in people's heads. What to do: A short manual for each site, owned by the site leads.
Uplift: LowEffort: MediumSupports the key-person fixes
How Buckle Barton can help · Consultancy. We can give you a simple template and review it with you.
Your 12-month plan to get sale-ready
Months 1 to 3
Quick wins and the big risks
- Start monthly management accounts
- Open contract talks with the café chain
- Open lease talks for Harbour Lane
- Sit down with us about the cash balance
Months 4 to 6
Build the team around you
- Hand supplier relationships to the head baker
- Appoint a production manager
- Bring all staff contracts up to date
Months 7 to 9
Spread the risk
- Sign the café chain contract
- Win 5 new independent café accounts
- Set up an EMI scheme
Months 10 to 12
Test it and get ready
- Take 4 weeks away as a trial
- Fill the remaining data room gaps
- Re-run this report with us to see how far you've come
Your tax and exit position
You appear to meet the main Business Asset Disposal Relief tests, but the company's surplus cash needs looking at first. These are points to discuss with your accountant, not advice.
- Business Asset Disposal Relief
- You own 100% and have worked in the business for over 2 years. BADR is 18% from 6 April 2026 (14% before), up to a £1m lifetime limit. The £620k cash could put trading status at risk; discuss with your accountant.
- Share sale or asset sale
- A share sale is usually simpler for you and keeps BADR in play. An asset sale may suit a buyer but can mean tax twice. Discuss with your accountant.
- Extracting surplus cash
- Dividends are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% from April 2026. Pension contributions may be an alternative. Discuss with your accountant.
- Earn-out
- If a buyer offers part of the price later, how it is structured changes the tax. Discuss with your accountant before agreeing terms.
- Employee Ownership Trust
- Selling to an EOT now gives 50% CGT relief (since 26 November 2025). Worth a conversation if the team route appeals.
- Inheritance tax
- Business Property Relief is 100% on the first £1m from April 2026 and 50% above. A later rise to £2.5m was reported; we'll confirm the current figure.
Rates as at 6 April 2026. This section highlights points to discuss with your accountant. It is not tax advice, and rates and reliefs can change.