CASE STUDY: MOORGATE MANAGEMENT
management and better stock control – would flow directly to profits. Maityard also encouraged them to review their marketing strategy and pricing model, helping to create a more consistent approach across trade and retail customers.
At the same time, the review highlighted areas that would later become important in the context of a sale, such as succession planning, staff development and property ownership.
Exit planning
Once the owners had a clearer view of their financial position and operational improvements were underway, the conversation turned to exit planning. The Moorgate team guided them through every stage of the process – from evaluating the business’s readiness for sale to understanding how to structure a transaction that worked for them both financially and personally.
Together they explored different routes:
• Selling the trading business while retaining the freehold property, leased back to the buyer on a long-term agreement. • Selling the shares or assets outright, depending on the most tax-efficient structure. • Considering an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) as a potential legacy option. • Assessing potential buyers, including regional merchants, buying groups, and management buy-ins.
Maityard then outlined the full sale journey – from signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and creating an Information Memorandum (IM) through to negotiating Heads of Terms, completing due diligence and finalising a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). Moorgate also helped assemble a team of professional advisers, including an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA), accountants, and lawyers specialising in share and property transactions.
Financial and property structure
For many independent merchants and showrooms, the property is their largest asset, and structuring it correctly can make a huge difference to the owners’ ultimate retirement income. Maityard worked with the merchant to help them create a ‘property company’ model, separating the trading business from the building itself. This allowed them to consider selling the business while retaining ownership of the premises, giving them a long-term rental
income and turning the property into a secure pension investment.
“Most owners don’t realise there are several ways to exit,” Maityard explains. “You don’t have to sell everything. Sometimes the best outcome is selling the business, keeping the property, and setting yourself up for a comfortable retirement.”
The Exit Roadmap
Moorgate supported the owners to become ‘exit ready’ by developed a detailed Exit Roadmap, mapping every stage of the journey: 1. Clarify personal goals – what the owners wanted from the sale and how involved they wished to be afterward. 2. Get the business sale-ready – strengthen systems, tidy up financials, document processes and ensure continuity of management. 3. Engage advisers – IFA, accountant and legal team. 4. Prepare marketing materials – NDA, Information Memorandum and initial buyer outreach. 5. Negotiate offers – evaluating 100% upfront payments versus split earn-outs. 6. Due diligence – setting up a virtual data room for commercial, financial and environmental checks. 7. Completion and transition – finalising sale agreements and planning the handover.
This structured approach gave the owners the confidence at every step and helped them make informed decisions without pressure or confusion.
A personal journey For the owners, just as for many independent merchants, the exit process wasn’t just about securing a financial future. It was about ensuring the legacy of a family business that had served its community for more than a century. “They wanted to see the business continue and the staff looked after,” says Maityard. “We built that into the plan from day one. The goal was to maximise value, but also to protect what they’d created.” By the time Moorgate completed its work, the business had a clear set of financial forecasts, a structured operating plan, and a defined strategy for sale. Whether they choose to sell immediately or wait for the right time, they now have all the tools they need to move forward with confidence. BMJ
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www.moorgatemanagement.com April 2026
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 23
The Moorgate difference Chris Maityard’s background as a qualified chartered accountant, combined with decades of experience managing and acquiring builders’ merchants, gave him a deep understanding of both the numbers and the nuances of the sector. Having co- founded the creation of the original IBMG and worked on numerous acquisitions, Maityard knows exactly what buyers look for and what drives value in the eyes of investors.
“Consultants who’ve never run a merchant can only go so far,” he says. “We bring practical, lived experience. We know what makes a branch profitable, what makes a deal attractive, and how to present a business so that both sides win.” By working with Moorgate, the merchant business transformed uncertainty into clarity. The business was stronger, leaner and ready for sale, while the owners understood their financial position, their options, and how to secure a fair return for their years of hard work. Just as importantly, they had a clear plan for life after the business – one that combined financial security with the satisfaction of knowing the company’s legacy would continue.
What began as a request for help to grow the business became a carefully structured journey toward exit. Through Moorgate Management’s clear framework, detailed financial insight and hands-on sector expertise working alongside them, the family were able to make informed, confident decisions about the future of their business and their own lives beyond it. For Moorgate, the project was another example of how its practical, relationship- driven approach helps independent merchants achieve not only commercial success but personal peace of mind – whether that means growth, succession or a well-planned retirement. BMJ
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