Buyouts in a recession are worthwhile, says E3 Media owner

Writing in the upcoming edition of Design Week, Avery recommends his experience of buying out Bristol-based digital consultancy E3 Media in February.

‘Ten months have passed, business has gone from strength to strength and we’ve paid off one of our lenders already,’ says Avery, who insists that performing a management buyout is ‘not rocket science’.

He recommends seeking multiple funding sources to spread the risk to individuals of funding your buyout.

‘The key to it all was most sources of finance are very risk-averse at the moment and also don’t want to be the sole source of funding…. seeking several sources of funding reduces everyone’s risk and most lenders take comfort that someone else has looked at it and decided to support you,’ says Avery.

In using invoice finance, Avery followed an unconventional route in funding his buyout. More often used to ease cash-flow for struggling consultancies, Avery went to more than 15 invoice-finance companies before he found one that would help him, but he finally managed to secure the last part of his finance.

Avery also believes that having a good solicitor and accountants – ‘people who get you and understand the sector’ – is crucial to a successful management buyout.

For the full story, see Business Insight in the 3 December issue of Design Week.