CFO-Led Exit Preparation

How much is your
company worth?

The Exit Diagnostic™ — 5 days · £5,000

Find out now →
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80% of founders don’t know the true value of their business
1 shot Most founders exit once. Every decision counts.
30–50% valuation premium for businesses that prepare
18 years M&A experience
40+ completed transactions
£120m+ deal value advised
UK & international buyers
Every engagement CFO-led

Services

CFO-Led Exit Preparation
Nothing Else

Most clients start with the Diagnostic. Once you know where you stand, we take it from there.

£ Start Here

Exit Diagnostic™

£5,000
5–7 days

Know your number. Know your gaps. Know exactly what to fix — and in what order.

Core Product ★ Full Package

Investor Ready™

£15,000
3–4 weeks

Your business packaged to survive buyer scrutiny — and command a premium.

↑ End-to-End

Exit Launch™

£35,000
8–12 weeks

Everything in Investor Ready — plus the advisors, outreach and deal coaching to close.

∞ Ongoing

Fractional CFO

£5–8K/mo
2 days/month · avg 18 months

Monthly strategy, board pack, exit timeline. Your CFO — without the salary.

Not sure where to start? Book a free 20-minute call — Shawn will tell you exactly which service is right for you.

Client Journey

Your path to a
completed exit

Most clients start with the Diagnostic. Many see it through to a closed deal.

01
Exit Diagnostic™
£5,000 · 5–7 days
Know exactly where you stand before any decision is made.
02
Investor Ready™
£15,000 · Month 1–2
Professional data room, model and buyer narrative — built for scrutiny.
03
Fractional CFO
£5–8K/mo · avg 18 months
Your CFO in your corner through the pre-sale window.
04
Exit Launch™
£35,000 · Month 12–18
Buyer outreach. Deal negotiation. Exit completed.
Start with a conversation →

Track Record

What prepared founders achieve

Anonymised. Real transactions. Real outcomes.

£120m+ Total deal value
40+ Transactions completed
34% Avg. premium above first offer
94% Client referral rate
SaaS • B2B
£8.4m
Sold to UK strategic acquirer
Closed 40% above the opening bid
Professional Services • MBO
£5.2m
Management buyout, PE-backed
First-round funding secured, no re-work in due diligence
Manufacturing • Cross-border
£22m
Sold to European strategic buyer
Sale price 28% above domestic best bid
E-commerce • D2C
£3.6m
Trade sale, founder exit
Full exit at 6.2x EBITDA vs. 4x initial expectation
Fintech • Minority raise
£4.1m
Minority investment, growth capital
Three term sheets — founder chose on terms, not just valuation
Healthcare Services
£11.5m
Trade sale, 18-month programme
EBITDA +31% pre-sale • sold at 9x

Fractional CFO

What changes
in 90 days

From £5,000/ month
Get Started →
30
Day 30
Gaps identified

Shawn learns the business — numbers understood, risks on the table.

60
Day 60
Controls in place

Reporting live. Financials that hold up under buyer scrutiny.

90
Day 90
Roadmap agreed

Exit path mapped, timeline set. A CFO who knows your business — and a plan.

Monthly strategy session
Board pack review
Ad-hoc advisory
Exit timeline tracking
Avg. 18-month engagement

Client Voices

Founders who prepared. Founders who closed.

“I had an offer on the table and thought I just needed a lawyer. Shawn spent two hours with me and identified £1.4m I was leaving behind. The Diagnostic paid for itself 280 times over.”

MD, SaaS business — South East
Exit value £8.4m

“We'd been trying to sell for 18 months. Two months with Shawn and we had a data room, a proper financial model and a story buyers could get behind. Signed within six weeks of going to market.”

Founder, Professional Services — Midlands
Exit value £5.2m • MBO

“What Shawn does isn’t advisory in the traditional sense — it’s operational. He was in our numbers, our board packs, our conversations with buyers. We couldn’t have done it without him.”

CEO, Healthcare Services — North West
Exit value £11.5m • 9x EBITDA

“Exit-Ready found a buyer we’d never have reached ourselves — a German strategic who paid a 28% premium over the best domestic offer. The international angle alone made the engagement worth it.”

Owner, Manufacturing — Yorkshire
Exit value £22m • Cross-border
Shawn Rea, CFO and Co-Founder of Exit-Ready

Who You’re Working With

Shawn Rea C.A. (SA)

CFO · Co-Founder, Exit-Ready

  • Currently CFO, CellPoint Digital — global payments platform, London
  • $1B+ raised across 10 fundraises — VC, PE, debt & equity
  • 4 exits & 2 IPOs (LSE & Euronext)
  • PE/VC-backed SaaS, fintech, payments & AI specialist
  • 8 M&A transactions — carve-outs, integrations, disposals

Shawn is a Chartered Accountant and CFO who has spent his career inside PE-backed, VC-backed and founder-led businesses — leading exits, fundraises, turnarounds and M&A across SaaS, fintech and payments.

He started Exit-Ready because he kept seeing the same pattern: founders with genuinely good businesses selling for far less than they should, simply because they weren’t prepared. Every Exit-Ready engagement is led by Shawn personally. You get a real CFO — not a junior analyst with a template.

Julian Prieto

Co-Founder · Operations & Business Development, Exit-Ready

  • Operated at principal level for a $10B+ family office — sovereign investors, global entrepreneurs and heads of state
  • Founder — knows the journey, the hurdles and what it really costs to let go
  • Maastricht University School of Business and Economics
  • London-based · English & Spanish · UK & EU passports

Julian has been a founder. He knows what it costs to build something from scratch — and how hard it is to let go when the time comes. That experience is what makes him a different kind of first conversation.

Before Exit-Ready, he spent years operating at the very top of private wealth — working for one of the world’s largest family offices, in rooms with sovereign investors, global entrepreneurs and heads of state. He understands how serious money thinks, what it looks for, and how to hold its attention. At Exit-Ready, Julian is the first person you’ll speak to.

Sectors

Industries we work in

Buyer appetite and valuation dynamics vary by sector. We know yours.

SaaS & Tech
Professional Services
Healthcare & Clinics
Manufacturing
E-commerce & D2C
Financial Services
Fintech
Recruitment
Construction & Built Environment
Legal & Accountancy
Media & Marketing
Logistics & Distribution
Education & Training
Hospitality & Leisure

Common Questions

Things founders ask before they engage.

Do I need to be planning to sell right now?
No. Most value is created 12–24 months before a sale. The Diagnostic tells you exactly where you stand and what window you’re working with.
Why do I need a CFO specifically — not just a business broker?
Brokers sell the business you have. A CFO builds the business that sells for more. Most value leakage happens before a deal reaches a broker — in your numbers, your contracts, your dependency on you. We work upstream.
What does the Exit Diagnostic actually deliver?
A written report: indicative valuation range, key value drivers, structural risks, and a sequenced action plan. Delivered in 5–7 working days. Specific, ranked actions — not vague strategy.
What size of business do you work with?
UK SMEs typically with revenue between £1m and £30m. Most clients are considering exits in the £2m–£25m range. If your business sits outside that, speak to us — we’ll tell you honestly if we’re the right fit.
Is this confidential?
Completely. Everything is under mutual NDA before anything is shared. Discretion is non-negotiable.
What happens after the Diagnostic?
You receive a clear report and we walk you through it on a call. No obligation to go further — though most clients do, because the next steps become obvious.

Find out what you’re worth

The Exit Diagnostic™ — £5,000. 5 days. Your number.

One conversation with Shawn. Five days later, you know exactly what your business is worth — and what to do about it.

Book a free 20-min call

Get in Touch

Start with a conversation

No obligation. Whether you’re years away from an exit or had an approach last week — start with a message. Julian will come back to you within one working day.

Book a free 20-minute call with Shawn Pick a time that works. No prep needed — just bring your questions.
Choose a Time →
or reach us directly
✉  contact@exit-ready.ai