Nick Heath: The smartest business owners are thinking about legacy, not just liquidity
As published in Professional Adviser, 7 November 2025
Saltus Partnership Programme’s Nick Heath on key considerations for IFAs looking to sell their business
Selling a planning firm is much more than a purely financial decision. It’s an emotional one. It marks the culmination of a career; it’s an important financial decision, of course, but also an important personal decision. Alongside agreeing a valuation that works for everyone, when negotiating with potential buyers you naturally feel compelled to uphold your responsibilities toward both employees and clients.
However, when the time comes to sell, advisers often feel that all anyone wants to discuss is the financials of the deal. Fielding offers, listening to pitches and managing a fleet of advisers, while trying to run a business and serve clients, can often feel all-consuming. It’s easy to get swept away in the money and forget why you started the firm in the first place, which for many advisers is to leave behind a tangible legacy.
There is a distinct difference between exiting a business successfully and creating a lasting legacy, but it is possible to do both. The key is to approach negotiations not just as a seller, but as a steward – shaping the next chapter of the firm, rather than closing the book.
The winding path to financial freedom
Financial planners help clients think about more than money. You understand better than anyone that money is never the sole consideration when working towards financial freedom. You help clients weigh what truly matters – family, a life of opportunity without anxiety, fun, planning for the future – and the same applies when selling your business.
When sitting on the other side of the table, negotiating the next step in the journey for your firm, the same principle applies. While the importance of price should not be understated, simply accepting a cheque for a large sum will not necessarily be the best outcome for your stakeholders or even the firm itself.
The best outcome will come from securing a deal that aligns with your values, protects your team, and safeguards the experience your clients have come to expect.
Setting clear parameters
Before initiating any conversations around a potential sale or partnership for your business, it’s vital to decide on a core set of non-negotiables. These should be three things that matter to you most, providing a filter through which to benchmark competing offers. Non-negotiables are inherently personal and should not be dictated by what the market wants, but by what you want.
Clients are the lifeblood of any business, and delivering value for them will naturally be your top priority. Before striking a deal, you should be confident that any potential buyer is aligned with your vision for clients. Building strong, trusted relationships with clients takes time, but can be easily undone should a buyer see financial planning as distribution channel, rather than a profession.
Second, having clarity around the buyer’s long-term plans for your business is crucial to protecting the interests of valued, often longstanding, employees. While creating a unique culture is a deeply rewarding process, it can quickly unravel should a new owner acquire your business with a view that people are not people but merely producers of cash flow.
Finally, selling under time pressure often leads to rushed decisions. Keeping alternative options open can help ensure you’re making an active choice, not a reactive one.
The proof is in the planning
Forward planning is often the difference between an exit that feels like a transaction and one that feels like a transition. Increasingly, firms are getting ahead by partnering early, scaling intentionally, and aligning their staff, culture and clients well before the deal stage.
That way, when the time comes, the process feels like the next step in a shared journey, not a handover that leaves people behind. Clients ultimately remember the experience they had with your firm. Mapping out what you want that experience to look like – and what the firm’s future should represent – makes it much easier to connect with the right buyer.
Legacy isn’t a line on a balance sheet, it’s the quiet satisfaction of knowing that the firm you built still stands for the same principles, and continues to serve the people who trusted you to guide them.
Nick Heath is head of relationship management at the Saltus Partnership Programme