Grow. Raise. Exit.
Benchmark Your Exit Readiness in Minutes.
80%+ of transactions fall through or see major price reductions due to avoidable issues. Be one of the few who are prepared.
- Five buyer-critical value drivers
- Scorecard to measure strengths and weaknesses
- Methodology built by our Exiteers™ (exited founders)
Designed for UK business owners with £3m – £30m turnover, thinking about an exit in the next 12 - 36 months.
In just 5 minutes, you’ll see your scores across five buyer-critical value drivers:
- Financial Readiness
- Operational Independence
- Growth Trajectory
- Exit Readiness
- Founder Reliance
The Scorecard mirrors real buyer diligence, revealing strengths and bottlenecks that impact valuation and deal certainty.
A proven method created by 15 Exiteers™ who have supported over 55 UK businesses doing £3m - £30m, with their growth to exit.
Take the Scorecard now to get instant, actionable feedback before you begin speaking to M&A firms or potential acquirers.
Your Scores Are Based On Five Key Exit Drivers.
Financial Readiness
How robust, transparent, and attractive are your financials to a buyer? Assess quality of earnings and predictability.
Operational Independence
Evaluate how well your business runs without your day-to-day involvement. Buyers value true operational independence.
Growth Trajectory
Discover if your business has a compelling, credible growth story that excites buyers and supports higher valuations.
Exit Readiness
Check if you have the right structures, documentation and processes for a smooth, low-risk exit.
Founder Reliance
See how much your business depends on your personal skills or relationships. The lower the reliance, the higher the value.
Some of our clients.
Technology | Journey: Growth to Exit | Outcome: 8-Figure Exit
Added an extra £1m+ to valuation and achieved an 8-figure exit for the founder. When an acquirer came knocking, the
business was ready, with complete clarity on CRM data, roles, procedures and product offerings.
Louise Wall
e18 Innovation | Read more
Health / SaaS | Journey: Growth to Exit | Outcome: 7-Figure Exit
A SaaS business with strong technology and integration potential, scaled and positioned for strategic acquisition. Sold to Livi/Kry. Cultural resonance, expert guidance and a well-constructed exit narrative delivered a premium outcome.
Tony Yates
Vix Digital | Read more
Consultancy / Government | Journey: Acquire | Outcome: 10-Day Acquisition
Praveen Karadiguddi needed to complete a strategic acquisition in weeks during August, when every solicitor said no. Rachel's network connected him with the right legal team and the deal was done in ten days. One of the fastest acquisitions The Grafter has seen.
Praveen Karadiguddi
Scrumconnect | Read more
Data / Consultancy | Journey: Exit | Outcome: 7-Figure Partial Exit
Partial exit for the CEO, achieved within 6 months. The founder remained in post two years on, demonstrating the flexibility of deal structures available to founders who plan ahead.
Caroline Carruthers
Carruthers & Jackson | Read more
Get your Exit Readiness Benchmark in minutes, with instant feedback and a personalised action plan.
Free and confidential.
The best time to start preparing is before you think you need to. Start today.
FAQs
The Grafter is a UK-based founder advisory firm built around 15 Exiteers™. People who have built and sold businesses, and who are trained to deliver The Grafter's proprietary Grow Raise Exit methodology.
This is not generic advisory. It is practical, grounded guidance from people who have navigated the same pressures founders face. To date, the team has supported 55 businesses and created over £150m in combined value.
Built on the belief that no founder should have to figure it out alone, the Exiteers™ work exclusively with founder-led businesses generating between £3m and £30m in revenue who are preparing to grow for exit.
About 5 minutes. With a strong coffee. It takes a little while because the scorecards need to give valuable insight. Any shorter, and the insights wouldn't be as useful.
Most answers have points weighted to them. Your result is the sum of your responses which give you key insights into your unique exit readiness.
The scorecard is yours to keep confidentially or to share amongst your leadership team and board. It will be emailed over to you, and once you complete it, you can also access the results on your dashboard, providing you with unique exit preparation and readiness feedback.
Once complete, our Exiteers™ will take a look at your scorecard. If it's clear that our exited founders can support you in certain areas, it's probably worth a chat. We'll be in touch!