offsell

Off-market business sales · United Kingdom

Don't put it on the open market. Offsell it.

We don't list businesses. We find buyers.

Sell your business off-market and confidentially. Offsell identifies, researches and approaches potential acquirers directly — without publicly advertising your business for sale.

For established UK businesses with turnover typically above £1m.

See if your business qualifies How Offsell works
£0
upfront
No
public listing
500+
active acquisition mandates*
Experienced
deal support

*via BusinessWanted.com, a separate, independent brand. Relevance varies by business. See current buyer demand

Off-market, explained

What does selling off-market mean?

Selling off-market means your business is not publicly advertised for sale.

Instead of listing it and waiting for enquiries, potential acquirers are identified, researched and approached directly.

See if your business qualifies
  1. 1

    Remain anonymous

    Your business starts without being publicly identified.

  2. 2

    Approach selected buyers

    Potential acquirers are researched and contacted directly.

  3. 3

    Control disclosure

    Your identity and detailed information are only released through the agreed process.

Tried to sell before?

Your business didn't sell. That doesn't mean it couldn't.

A previous sale process can fail for many reasons. Perhaps the value expectation was wrong. Perhaps the right buyers were never reached. Perhaps the positioning did not resonate. Or perhaps a genuine transaction simply fell apart.

Take the Fresh Sale Review Didn't sell? See your options

£0 upfront · Off-market · Confidential · Experienced advisers

Was it your business — or the way it was sold?

Before you simply try again, find out what stopped the previous sale.

Where did it stop?

Off-market does not mean passive.

It means actively finding the right buyers without putting your business on public display.

Active platform · Confidential process · No public listings

Why you won't see our clients listed

You won't find our clients publicly listed for sale. Offsell identifies and approaches potential buyers directly and confidentially.

Offsell is a UK off-market business sale platform conducting confidential direct buyer outreach. Potential acquirers are researched and approached one by one — nothing is posted for the market to browse.

How Offsell works

Off-market. Confidential. Targeted. Controlled.

Why sell off-market?

Because selling your business does not have to mean putting it on public display.

  1. 01 · CONFIDENTIAL

    Keep the sale off public marketplaces.

    Your business is not listed on businesses-for-sale websites, so customers, staff, suppliers and competitors are not alerted.

  2. 02 · TARGETED

    Approach companies with a reason to acquire.

    Buyers are chosen because they have a credible strategic reason to want your business — not because they happened to be browsing.

  3. 03 · CONTROLLED

    Decide when your identity is released.

    Your business starts anonymous. Identity and detailed information follow only through the agreed process, with your approval.

    1. Anonymous
    2. NDA
    3. Your approval
    4. Disclosure

  4. 04 · COMPETITIVE

    Create interest from more than one buyer.

    Approaching several well-chosen buyers in parallel creates the opportunity for competing interest, rather than a single enquiry.

The best buyer may never be looking for a business for sale.

A strategic acquirer may want your customers, geography, capability, people, products, recurring revenue or market position — without ever searching a businesses-for-sale website.

Offsell is designed to identify those companies and approach them confidentially.

The traditional way. The Offsell way.

Same objective. A very different route to the buyer.

The old way

The Traditional Way

Public listings. A slower process. More uncertainty.

  • On marketBusiness publicly marketed for sale.
  • Slow processPrepare, market and wait.
  • Wrong buyersTime spent filtering unsuitable enquiries.
  • Pay upfrontFees may be payable before genuine buyer interest.
  • Broker dependentRelies heavily on adviser activity from day one.

Offsell

The Offsell Way

A more confidential, better-targeted way to sell your business.

  • Off marketNever publicly listed.
  • ConfidentialIdentity protected until the agreed disclosure stage.
  • Buyer demandCurrent acquisition demand via BusinessWanted.com.
  • Trade-sale focusedBuyers with a credible strategic reason to acquire.
  • No upfront feesNothing to pay to get started.
On market
Off market
Advertise and wait
Research and approach
Broad enquiries
Relevant buyer demand
Public sale process
Controlled disclosure
Broker-led from day one
Technology-led search + experienced deal support

Direct buyer search

We actively find the buyers.

Explore potential buyers See whether there may be credible acquirers for a business like yours.

01

Buyer demand

We assess your business against current acquisition demand, including active mandates via BusinessWanted.com.

02

Strategic buyer research

We identify trade buyers, PE-backed groups and other companies with a credible reason to acquire your business.

03

Direct confidential outreach

Selected buyers are approached directly rather than waiting for marketplace enquiries.

04

Campaign intelligence

Research, outreach, responses, NDAs and controlled disclosure are managed through the Offsell platform.

The Offsell model

Technology where it matters.Experience when it counts.

Offsell is not a listing site and it is not simply an AI matching tool. The platform drives preparation, buyer research, confidential outreach and early qualification. When genuine buyer interest develops, experienced advisers step in to help progress the deal.

Stage 1 · Platform-led

Platform-led early stage

Technology and structured workflows handle the heavy early work — identifying and approaching potential acquirers directly and confidentially, rather than publicly listing the business.

  1. Prepare
  2. Research
  3. Match
  4. Approach
  5. Qualify
  6. Disclose

When genuine buyer interest develops

Stage 2 · Adviser-led

Adviser-led deal stage

Experienced advisers step in when commercial judgement and transaction experience matter most.

  1. Meetings
  2. Offers
  3. Negotiation
  4. Heads of Terms
  5. Due diligence
  6. Completion

You get the efficiency of technology without being left on your own when the deal becomes serious.

Experienced M&A advisers support negotiation and transaction progression through to completion.

See how Offsell works

Who Offsell is for

Built for established UK businesses.

Offsell is designed primarily for owners of established UK businesses with turnover typically above £1m who are genuinely prepared to explore a sale if the right buyer and terms emerge.

If your business turns over more than £1m, an off-market sale should be one of the options you consider.

Fees

£0 upfront

Nothing to pay to start your Offsell sale process.

5% / 4% / 3%
progressive success fee
£15,000
+ VAT minimum

A payment becomes due when Heads of Terms are signed and is credited against the success fee.

See if your business qualifies See how our fees work

Thinking about an off-market sale?

Practical guides to preparing your business, understanding value, identifying buyers and managing a confidential sale.

View all guides

Selling a Business Off-Market

11 min read

How to Find Companies That Might Buy Your Business

9 min read

How Confidential Is an Off-Market Business Sale?

8 min read

Sectors

Businesses we help sell.

All sectors

You may already have a buyer. You may just not know who they are.

Offsell is designed to find out.

Don't put your business on the open market. Offsell it.

See if your business qualifies