Business brokers too often have to contend with stalled deals. Many attest to the same scenario: a business appears strong, the seller is motivated, and the numbers align. And yet still, financing collapses, due diligence carries on for months on end, or the buyer withdraws. As a result, transactions that seemed certain end up returning to the market, leaving brokers with months of unrewarded effort.
This issue is really common for businesses in the $2M to $10M revenue range. These deals are often too small for institutional buyers (who cannot justify the overhead) and too complex for first-time purchasers, who often underestimate the process and resources required. As a result, quality businesses remain unsold and brokers, sellers and buyers invest significant time in transactions that don’t close.
Genshare is perfectly placed to address this challenge because we offer a straightforward proposition: we’re committed to closing.
Why deals fall over
Financing is often the primary obstacle for most deals. Individual buyers, such as search fund operators or first-time executives, may have the intent and capability but lack immediate access to capital. Securing funding can take months and is not guaranteed. Funding is often difficult for individual buyers because lenders see small business acquisitions as risky, especially when the buyer lacks a long track record of ownership. Without significant collateral or personal guarantees, traditional banks are hesitant to finance the deal. In turn, sellers who have experienced failed deals often become hesitant and more difficult to re-engage.
Due diligence is yet another bottleneck. Document requests accumulate, responses are delayed or deprioritised depending on how secure the deal feels, and timelines slip. Processes that could take six weeks can extend to several months, causing sellers to lose confidence or reconsider the transaction.
Brokers absorb the cost of this uncertainty. Every stalled deal is time invested without a result, and oftentimes an unhappy client. Every flaky buyer is a relationship to manage and a seller to appease. As deals start to fall over, or even become a little shaky, the economics of these transactions often don’t justify the effort required to rescue them.
The Genshare difference
Genshare approaches each deal with what we believe is a much more secure proposition. Thanks to our business model, we don’t need to raise funds or wait for bank approvals in the same way an individual first-time buyer does. When we express interest, we’re prepared to proceed if the due diligence affirms our beliefs in a business.
Our legal and financial structures are purpose-built for small business acquisitions. We don’t need to assemble a team of advisors for each transaction. Instead, we have an established framework which can shorten the timeline between initial discussion and completion. Where the typical approach is manual, piecemeal, and slow, ours uses structured workflows, turnkey legal documentation and AI-assisted analysis to move faster on things like financial modelling, risk identification and document review. We also use independent third parties for further expertise, in order to bolster the process.
As a result, sellers feel that they are participating in a more structured and robust process, brokers are clear on timelines and expectations, and deal qualification progresses at a consistent and transparent pace. All of this serves to make the deal feel both more secure and more predictable.
Moving faster than the incumbents doesn’t mean cutting corners. We are direct about fit – if a deal isn’t suitable, we communicate this early to avoid unnecessary delays. We have a staged due diligence process that has clear and incremental go/no-go moments, which means deals won’t collapse in the final weeks after a huge amount of time is invested.
How we work with brokers
Brokers possess deep knowledge of their markets and clients. We respect this expertise. Our contribution is capital, operational readiness, and an efficient process that values every stakeholder’s time.
While we deploy codified processes to enhance efficiency and transparency, we also understand that each business is unique, and we assess every opportunity on its individual merit. But certain things will always define our approach: we’re responsive, prepared, and transparent.
You can learn more about how we work with brokers here.
