SCOTLAND’S business owners looking to sell a business have just seen their choice of business agents increase.

 

But the brand new option comes backed by some of the best knowledge and expertise in the business because Cornerstone Business Agents has been launched by two of Scotland’s most experienced agents – Gordon Mair and Derek Burgoyne.

 

Gordon and Derek, who set up Bruce & Co in 1988 and took a break from the industry after selling the firm last year, are back. And this time they reckon they have something very special to offer in a market which they have researched thoroughly, which they recognise has changed and which  demands new thinking and continuous improvement as well as in-depth knowledge from its agents.

 

 “Our aim was to create a new company that offered a real alternative to business owners wishing to sell their businesses,” Gordon explained.

“We had no interest in offering a service that was the same as other agents.”

And their thinking has been heavily influenced by no-nonsense discussions with business owners; over the last year the partners have spoken to hundreds of business owners to find out what they would look for in a sales agent.

“The answers we received were a real eye opener,” Derek Burgoyne said. “The bottom line was that owners wanted to deal with an experienced agent who would handle the sale from valuation to completion, would give a realistic valuation of their business and could provide extensive guidance through every stage of the sale”.

 

But, crucially, it was also made clear that business owners wishing to sell did not want to pay excessive up-front fees or sign long contracts that were full of nasty small print and impossible to understand.

 

Cornerstone Business Agents took all of those comments on board and has incorporated them into its service.

Each sale is handled personally by either Gordon or Derek, both of whom have more than 25 years experience in selling businesses.

 

The Cornerstone agency agreement is simple to understand and can be cancelled at any time – unlike those from most other agents which can feature a tie-in period of six months or longer.

 

Business owners instructing Cornerstone to handle the sale of their business will have their businesses listed on the new ground-breaking Cornerstone site www.cornerstoneba.com as well as a second site established by Burgoyne & Mair earlier in the year www.scottishbusinessmarket.com. However Internet exposure doesn’t end there, the company also lists businesses on a wide variety of other commercial business sales sites.

 

So will the new business be successful? It’s being launched in the middle of a deep recession, after all.

Well, the industry may be going through pretty challenging times but Burgoyne & Mair certainly aren’t put off by the current economic climate.

 

“We have sold businesses when the country was in recession before in the late 80’s & early 90’s” Gordon explained.

And they reckon that experience will be one of a number of defining advantages that will allow them to provided the best service to Scotland’s business owners.

 

The final word was from Derek. “We are excited about this new agency – even more than last time around,” he said.

“We’ve taken all we’ve learned about selling businesses over the last 25 years, added the feedback we received from business owners and buyers and have created a service that is cost effective and extremely efficient”.