Off-Market Business Sales
Sell your business. Keep it discreet.
Considering a sale but concerned about staff, customers or competitors finding out?
Business & Co helps owners explore a discreet sale through private buyer introductions, controlled information sharing and personal support—without publicly advertising the business.
- No public business-for-sale advertising.
- Carefully managed buyer introductions.
- Disclosure coordinated with you.
Start with a private, no-obligation conversation.
Why off market
Your business doesn’t need a public ‘For Sale’ sign.
For some owners, publicly advertising a sale can create questions before there is anything to announce.
Staff may worry about their future. Customers may question continuity. Competitors may try to use the uncertainty to their advantage.
An off-market approach gives you another option: exploring a sale privately while continuing to run the business.
Explore your next chapter while keeping day-to-day business moving.
Who this approach suits
Built for businesses where discretion matters.
Businesses with large teams
Manage the timing of sensitive conversations and reduce unnecessary speculation while you explore your options.
Contract-based businesses
Keep the proposed sale carefully managed where ongoing contracts and client relationships are central to the business.
Owners in competitive industries
Avoid publicly broadcasting your intentions to competitors.
Businesses with key customer relationships
Plan how and when information is shared with customers whose confidence matters.
Commercially sensitive operations
Control access to financial information, pricing, customer details and operational documents.
Owners testing their options
Have an initial private discussion about buyer interest, preparation and the potential sales approach.
Private reach
Off market doesn’t mean out of reach.
A discreet sale relies on finding relevant prospects and approaching them carefully.
Depending on your business and instructions, we can explore suitable contacts within our buyer database, existing enquiries, professional connections and selected industry networks.
We agree the approach with you before making introductions and manage what information is shared at each stage.
- Relevant contacts from our buyer database.
- Selected private buyer introductions.
- Discreet approaches to suitable industry operators.
- Introductions through professional and referral networks.
Four steps
A private sale. A clear process.
- 1
Confidential conversation
We discuss your business, goals and confidentiality concerns, including who should not be approached.
- 2
Agree the private sales strategy
We review the information needed, discuss pricing and agree how the opportunity can be presented without unnecessary identifying details.
- 3
Carefully managed introductions
We approach selected prospects privately, discuss their interest and use confidentiality agreements before releasing sensitive information. Further disclosure is coordinated with you.
- 4
Negotiation through to handover
We coordinate inspections and offers, support due diligence and work with your accountant and solicitor as the transaction progresses towards settlement.
Some contracts, leases and transactions require consent or disclosure. Your solicitor will advise on the requirements and timing.
Controlled disclosure
You stay involved in what gets shared.
- Initial discussion
- Agreed buyer approach
- Confidentiality agreement
- Controlled information release
We discuss how your business is described, which prospects can be approached and when more detailed information is released.
Where appropriate, initial discussions can use a non-identifying overview. We coordinate inspections and buyer access with you to help minimise disruption.
Off-market sales reduce public exposure, but complete secrecy cannot be guaranteed. Some businesses may be recognisable from their characteristics, and confidentiality agreements cannot eliminate every disclosure risk.
Experience and trust
Personal support for a sensitive decision.
Selling a business is a major decision. A private sale adds another layer: managing the process carefully while protecting important relationships.
Business & Co provides hands-on support, from the first conversation and buyer introductions to negotiations and coordination with your professional advisers.
Meet Steve
Have the conversation before making the announcement.
I understand that selling your business isn’t something you necessarily want everyone to know about.
You may have a team relying on you, customers who value continuity and contracts you need to protect.
Let’s talk privately about your situation and whether an off-market approach could suit your business. We can work through the options before you decide on your next step.
Steve GunesBusiness & Co
Buyer network
A wider buyer network. A discreet approach.
Where relevant, our network can include local buyers, industry operators and migrant entrepreneurs introduced through professional connections.
Any introduction remains subject to your agreed off-market strategy and confidentiality requirements.
Questions
Off-market sales, answered.
It means exploring a sale without publicly advertising your business. We use selected private introductions and controlled disclosure instead of an open public campaign.
The approach is designed to reduce public exposure and unnecessary disruption. We plan communication and disclosure with you, although complete secrecy cannot be guaranteed.
Only if that forms part of a strategy you have agreed to. Tell us who must not be contacted so those restrictions can be recorded.
We use confidentiality agreements before releasing sensitive information. The level and timing of further disclosure are coordinated with you.
Where practical, inspections can be arranged at suitable times to help minimise disruption and visibility.
Yes. A private approach reaches fewer people than a public campaign. We discuss the trade-off between discretion and exposure so you can choose the approach that suits your priorities.
Yes. We can discuss changing the strategy with you. Public advertising would only begin after you have agreed to it.
No. An initial conversation can help you understand the process, preparation and options before committing to a sale.
Confidential enquiry
Let’s talk privately about your business.
Tell Steve a little about your situation and the safest way to contact you. We’ll discuss how an off-market sale could work for your business.
Prefer to talk now?
0418 560 167Ready for a change without a public announcement?
Speak with Business & Co about a carefully managed off-market sale.