From Crisis to Clarity: Choosing a Partial Exit

We were introduced by a corporate finance adviser to second-generation business owners planning an exit with £12.6m net of family property wealth, split across two limited companies.

The family-run residential property business operated a large, geographically concentrated rental portfolio. It had been built over decades and provided dependable income. However, it required significant ongoing hands-on involvement and carried increasing emotional and mental weight.

The clients were in their late 40s, married, with teenage children. Importantly, the next generation had no interest in taking the business on, making long-term succession unlikely. While the business remained financially sound, it was no longer aligned with how the couple wanted to spend their time or energy.

At a point of acute pressure, the client reached what could best be described, in their own words, as a crisis moment. The operational burden of the business had begun to outweigh its benefits, and a full exit felt like the only way out.

In that state, the instinct was urgency.

“I need out. Now.”

Underneath that urgency sat unresolved uncertainty.

The client was anxious about replacing reliable rental income with investment income. Property was the only asset they had ever known.

There were also family considerations. An elderly parent remained connected to the business. A sibling was not involved operationally but was expected to be treated fairly.

Above all, there was no clear answer to the question:

How much is actually enough?

There was a real danger of making an irreversible decision while emotionally overloaded.

Creating clarity before transactions

Our first priority was to create clarity before any transaction discussion took place.

This sits at the heart of our Cash Out With Confidence approach.

We explored what a sustainable lifestyle financial planning approach looked like over the next 30 to 40 years.
How much day-to-day involvement the client genuinely wanted.
What needed to be protected for the wider family.

Gradually, we shifted from reacting to pressure to intentionally shaping the next chapter.

Only once those priorities were clear did we translate them into financial reality.

This is part of our fixed fee financial planning model.

We mapped current spending and reliance on the business, and modelled what life would look like with no property assets, as well as with a reduced property portfolio.

The client could see not just what a sale might achieve through speaking to their corporate finance adviser, but what it would mean for them.

Instead of “sell everything or do nothing”, we explored a wider range of options, including retaining part of the portfolio while selling another.

A partial exit emerges

A partial exit emerged as the preferred option.

One that reduced operational pressure while preserving what was familiar.

One that allowed them to achieve what was important to them, including moving house and supporting their children as they approached independence.

This is how they later described the experience:

“Ed, I just wanted to say, I think that it has been so great working with you guys.

But you gave the lads, particularly my husband, in a real crisis moment, a real reality check about a full exit.

And when he was in that crisis, he was like, I need out, I need out.

And actually seeing what the stark reality looked like.

Yeah, I think you really helped him to be able to reverse slightly and say, actually I don’t think that’s right for me and without you, that they wouldn’t have got to that, he’d have been knocking on the door, dragging his brother with him.

He wasn’t at that position to do that.

I think it’s been really helpful and I just wanted you to know that.”

With the pressure removed and the trade-offs understood, the decision was natural.

The decision

The client chose to proceed with a partial exit.

One company is being placed on the market.
The other will be retained.

This reduces stress, introduces diversification, and maintains continuity without forcing a complete break from what is familiar.

They have retained Xentum to steward their exit, helping them build out a post-exit financial plan as they go through the sale, providing an objective guide on that journey, and someone who has a deep understanding of their priorities.

We will also help them investment planning and invest the proceeds of the sale when that time comes.