Every business has a Dave. He's been there fifteen years. He knows every supplier, every awkward customer, every workaround that keeps the operation moving. He doesn't need a manual because he is the manual.
When Dave goes — and Dave will go — he takes a portion of your exit value with him.
Not maliciously. Not even consciously. But a buyer's due diligence team will find the gap where Dave used to be. And they will price it accordingly.
That price reduction has a name.We call it the Exit Tax.
Be honest. Not the things that would be inconvenient — the things that would actually stop. The decisions only you can make. The relationships only you hold. The pricing logic that lives in your head from forty years of knowing your market.
That knowledge is your life's work. It is also, right now, invisible to a buyer.
Invisible knowledge does not command a premium. It commands a discount.
The question is not whether your business has value. It does. The question is whether that value is documented, provable and transferable — the three things a 2026 buyer requires before he writes a cheque at the number you deserve.
Operational processes that exist in practice but not on paper. A buyer cannot value what he cannot verify.
Supplier relationships, routing logic and fulfilment knowledge held by individuals rather than the business.
Key accounts that exist because of personal relationships. If those relationships are not transferable, neither is their value.
Forty years of margin instinct living in the owner's head. Undocumented pricing logic is an invitation for a buyer to reduce your multiple.
Vendor terms, preferential agreements and procurement knowledge that disappears the moment a key person leaves.
Internal processes that work because Brenda knows how they work. A buyer's team will not accept Brenda as a system.
Ten years ago, a buyer with a cheque book and a good feeling about your handshake could close a deal. Heritage counted. Relationships counted. A solid order book and a loyal workforce were enough.
That buyer still exists. But he now arrives with a team behind him. That team is looking for documented processes, transferable systems and evidence that the business operates independently of its owner.
If they find the knowledge is in people's heads rather than in the business, they do not walk away. They simply adjust the number downward and call it due diligence.
We call it the Exit Tax. And it is entirely preventable.
| Sector | Captive exit | Surfer exit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
General Manufacturing |
3.0x – 3.5x |
7.0x – 8.5x |
BDO / MarktoMarket |
Distribution & Logistics |
3.0x – 3.5x |
6.0x – 8.0x |
MarktoMarket H1 2025 |
B2B Technical Services |
2.5x – 3.5x |
8.0x – 10.0x |
Experian M&A 2025 |
Specialist Manufacturing |
3.5x |
8.5x – 10.0x |
PwC Global Industrials |
Precision Engineering |
3.5x |
8.0x – 9.5x |
BDO Manufacturing |
Vantage Index benchmarks cross-referenced against BDO, PwC, Experian and MarktoMarket M&A transaction data 2024–2026.
On a £2M EBITDA distribution business, moving from a 3x exit to a 7x exit is the difference between £6 million and £14 million.
That eight million pounds does not appear by accident. It is built, deliberately, in the 18 to 36 months before sale.
Seven questions. Three minutes. Your position — Captive, Captain or Surfer — and your estimated gap in pounds. Then one conversation with Graham to confirm the number and whether Vantage can close it.
Check Your Valuation Gap Seven questions · Three minutes · Your gap in pounds