Malek and his wife Christine had dreams of owning their own business after arriving in Canada a few short years before. Working with cars was a natural choice for Malek who had been doing so his whole life. They didn't want to take on the risk of starting an auto shop from the ground up; finding a location, securing a lease, building a customer base from scratch and expending a huge amount of capital on equipment and inventory. Belfield Auto was the perfect solution and the perfect time. A working operation with decades of establishment in a North Toronto neighbourhood that attracts exactly the right clientele. With an owner ready to sell and move to their next chapter, the opportunity was clear and present. A motivated seller is a great place to start when acquiring any business. However that is just the beginning.

The couple would have to align several aspects in realizing their goal. From understanding exactly what they were buying and its value, to actually financing the purchase, closing and executing the transition. Not only would they have to engage in a full Capital Readiness project, but also land the transition to take advantage of a strong, existing customer base. It is our job to help them answer all of these questions, gather or create the required documents and package it for lender consumption.

Its not good enough to simply walk into your local bank and ask for a business loan. Banks know that by their very nature, small businesses carry a heightened amount of risk. Inexperienced first time owners, industry and market changes that are uncontrollable, operational risks, among many others. The job of the owner/buyer is to ensure their lender - and ultimately themselves - that they have thought through their idea, that they have a formula that is likely to succeed, and how they will be ready to manage the risk. The package that is created in any business startup or purchase project is, at best designed to answer all of those questions in a way that gives everyone involved the confidence to move forward. Taking a look at just some the elements that went into the Belfield Auto acquisition: 

We started with the business plan. Even the acquisition of an existing and thriving small business needs one. It answers the many questions of strategy, operations, management, existing assets and most of all financing, for both the buyers and their bank. In the case of an acquisition, the business already has a financial history. No matter how cloudy or sunny that history, the new owners, through  their proposed strategy and financial projections must show that they understand the business and what it will need to be successful in the future.

The package we aided in building gave the lenders all of the confidence they needed to move forward with the project, and as often occurs offer an even greater suite of services to their new clients, fostering a long-term relationship. The handover went smooth - which is not always the case in business acquisitions - and Belfield Auto is still thriving under Malek and Christina's ownership. It is a prime example of the business transition that is happening all over the country, and the world. One generation passing their legacy on to the next, leaving it in the hands of a responsible and ambitious owner who will hopefully see it through another 20 years.