Services: Business Growth Plan, Support to Exit
Results:
- The business sold for more than double the value originally anticipated
- Strong buyer interest and a competitive bidding situation
- Owners able to step away from the business with confidence and focus fully on the next chapter
“I think I’d rather boil my head than go through that ordeal again!”
Steve Garton of flex7 said shortly after the sale of the business.
Like so many SME owners, he and his wife Andrea had no previous experience of selling a business, found the process difficult, but were very grateful to have had support along the way. This is their journey:
Elephants Child was introduced to founders of flex7 Steve and Andrea Garton by Amy Goodall Smith, an SJP partner. Steve, a long‑term entrepreneurial designer, had built flex7 over many years into a successful business designing smart, intelligent lighting control systems. He came up with the concepts and ideas for new products, a real innovator and with flagship projects he would heavily involve himself with his small team of designers as the design developed, very much a hands-on business owner.
Alongside this, Steve and Andrea had also grown a second family business, Quickwire.
What was the catalyst?
When we met them, their aspiration was clear: step aside from flex7 and focus their time, energy and financial input on building Quickwire for the next generation. Andrea was also keen for Steve to reduce his working hours or even retire.
As their financial advisor, Amy Goodall Smith was involved throughout the process to ensure that the sale process and timing was structured in the best possible way to fund their future plans. Starting these conversations early, rather than waiting until the sale had gone through, allowed for the best possible outcome in terms of having sufficient replacement income. Steve and Andrea were able to make informed decisions about spending, investing, and gifting and understand the impact of the sale price of the business and their choices on their long term finances.
The Exit Journey
Like the vast majority of business owners Steve and Andrea had no prior experience of selling a business. While they had an initial value in mind, the reality of an exit felt complex, unfamiliar and daunting.
From the outset, the Elephants Child team was honest about the nature of an exit journey. There would be highs, lows, and moments where the process would feel overwhelming. At one point, Steve was so frustrated he was ready to sell the business for “whatever we can get”.
We began with a Business Growth Plan (BGP) to create clarity and confidence. This helped to:
- Understand the true dynamics of the business
- Identify issues likely to arise during due diligence
- Sense‑check valuation expectations
- Explore options between selling immediately versus doing further preparation
The BGP session, held in Reading, highlighted several development areas, including people, systems and processes. As part of this work, we also completed a systems and process audit, adding further rigour and insight.
The next step was to introduce corporate finance support. We curated a panel of three trusted corporate finance houses and invited them to present directly to Steve and Andrea, alongside their Finance Director, Rebecca.
All three were credible; the decision came down to cultural fit. Steve and Andrea chose Mark Sykes at Hornblower, whose calm, direct, no‑nonsense approach resonated strongly with them. Mark then led buyer engagement and the transaction process, coordinating legal and tax advisers along the way.
As well as the overall project management of the sale process, Mark played a key role in positioning the business effectively, creating competitive tension between buyers and negotiating the commercial structure of the transaction. This ultimately proved instrumental in achieving a valuation materially ahead of the shareholders’ original expectations and with a highly favourable deal structure.
While our involvement was lighter during this stage of the process, we remained a steady presence, helping to set expectations, challenging where needed, and providing reassurance when the process felt particularly difficult.
The End Result
The process generated strong buyer interest and developed into a competitive bidding situation. Ultimately, the business sold for more than double the value Steve and Andrea had originally anticipated.
The outcome allowed them to step away from flex7 with confidence and focus fully on the next chapter, investing time, capital and energy into Quickwire for their family’s future.
Steve Garton had this to say about the process:
“Thanks guys for steering us in the right direction and helping us out in our time of need. We were really happy with Mark Sykes at Hornblower. I want to extend my gratitude to you firstly for getting us such an amazing price for the business and then for guiding us through what was, at times, a nightmarish process. From all the shareholders, a big thank you.”