Lynn and David talk to us about their experience when instructing HSR Law to assist with the selling of their company.
They were always on our side. Always there backing us. I just can’t say enough. The team was so professional. So there for you. It was like they’d done 38 years of business with you. It was like they were selling their business.
David, HSR Law Client
What was important to you when choosing a solicitor?
David: Trust. When looking for someone to support you in a business sale, it’s important that you do get somebody who stands where you stand and someone who you trust. They’re dealing with (in our case) 38 years of your life, aren’t they?
What was it about HSR Law that made you choose them?
Lynn: First of all it was a recommendation from another one of our professional consultants and for him to recommend it meant a lot it came with a lot of… what’s the word we’re looking for? We really trust his opinion and therefore the recommendation of Andrew at HSR Law couldn’t have come from a better place.
Who represented you and how was your experience with them?
David: Andrew, Melissa and their team. From day one it was just so professional. So trustworthy and they just made everything seem quite seamless—effortless—it seemed effortless. We had quite a lot of input and groundwork to do and the process was made simple and easy as possible. And how they carried on their procedures was so simple. 38 years you spend of your life time building up a business through highs and lows, and then you come to actually selling it… I always said my pension was going to be the business, whereas normally you’d put into a pension but for us it went back into the business. We were dealing with a heck of a lot and for me when HSR came back with questions it was worded so simply for me to understand.
Everybody who we dealt with was so professional and polite and truthful. It gives you confidence to think you’ve got someone on your team who’s looking after your interests.
David, HSR Law Client
How did you find the sale process from start to finish?
David: 1000%. Honestly, I can’t speak highly enough. I actually passed them onto another friend of mine. That’s how much confidence we have in Andrew and the team. Everybody we dealt with was so professional and polite and truthful. It gives you confidence to think you’ve got someone on your team who’s looking after your interests.
Did you hit any roadblocks and if so, how did HSR Law manage this for you?
Lynn: We had a lot of queries thrown back at us from the buyers which HSR Law approached very professionally, came up with suggestions how to go about rectifying it, asked us what our thoughts were—which 9 times out of 10 were to go with what they suggested. In one particular area there was something you (Lynn speaking to David) just didn’t agree with and you pushed back and said no and they sorted it.
David: It was close to completion and there was an issue and I… well I spat my dummy out! And it was resolved in a day! They were always on our side. Always there backing us. I just can’t say enough. The team was so professional. So there for you. It was like they’d done 38 years of business with you. It was like they were selling their business.
Lynn: One really good thing about Andrew’s team was they all worked very well in sync with each other so it wasn’t like: “oh well I spoke to such-a-body last week and you need to speak to her”, they didn’t pass the book on to somebody else because they each have their areas. They just communicated with each other in order to make the communication with us very simple.
David: Our business is logistics. And I’ve said for probably 30 years that logistics is about talking to your clients. Talking to people. That’s exactly what they do. If they say they’re going to ring you back, they ring you back. You’re not left hanging. If they have to make a call to a planning department or whatever, they make it and if they say there’s going to be a timeline to get back to you. If they say tomorrow morning, they still come back to you tomorrow morning even if they haven’t had a reply. Just to keep you updated that they haven’t had a reply. They do exactly what it says on the tin. Lynn: Exactly what they say they’re going to do.
Me and Lynn lived and breathed that business for 38 years with good days and bad days. It’s never simple selling a business because of the legislation you have to go through and the queries, but HSR Law made it so simple. It’s like making a cake. All I have to do is put cream on it after they’ve baked it!
David, HSR Law Client
Was there anything your solicitor did that stood out to you?
David: Just the complete team. Andrew passed on some contact details regarding after selling the business: financially and contacts where we need advice and where to put money. Andrew said he’d do that and he did. He’s going to get his team to look at other things to do for us too. Probably re-write us wills etcetera. This is how much we trust them: we’ve spent a lot of money on getting our wills sorted and we’ve got everything in place—trust funds and all sorts. But since dealing with HSR Law and Andrew himself, we just want to put them in charge of that and probably re-do it again. That’s how much faith we have in them.
And finally, how would you describe your overall experience with HSR Law?
Lynn: Once again (laughs) it was just… if we had to rate them 10/10 they’d get an 11.
David: I’d give them 100/10! (laughs) If anybody selling a business were to ask me, I wouldn’t hesitate and I’d pass their name on with confidence, knowing that they’d have 100% interest, composure and professionalism at all times. Which I did do to another friend of mine!
Another very good friend of mine also uses HSR Law and they speak very highly—very highly—of HSR Law and not even necessarily Andrew in this case but what one of the departments do for their company. And it’s a large company with a large turnover.
You come to that day where you sell. I mean, me and Lynn lived and breathed that business for 38 years with good days and bad days. It’s never simple selling a business because of the legislation you have to go through and the queries, but HSR Law made it so simple. It’s like making a cake. All I have to do is put cream on it after they’ve baked it! (Laughs)
This case was headed up by Andrew Best, Head of Corporate and Commercial, and Melissa Squires, Head of Commercial Property.
Our Corporate and Commercial Solicitors, headed up by Partner Andrew Best, deliver an individually tailored, commercially focused and practical service to help you achieve your goals.
For more details on how we can support you or your business, contact our Corporate and Commercial Law team today.