Private briefing

On-market targets · 04 August 2026

Vendors who are
already selling.

The other half of the play. These businesses are openly on the market right now, through brokers, within reach of Hatton and inside your sectors. Where the listing states the vendor is retiring, that is flagged.

← Off-market list (1,120 companies) · Approach letters

35Live listings
5Retirement stated
20In your transport sectors

Read this first — these numbers are a different species

Every figure on this page is a vendor claim from a sales listing. On the off-market list, each number came from accounts filed at Companies House under statutory penalty. Here, turnover and profit are whatever the seller told the broker. They are marketing copy until you see the accounts. Do not treat the two lists as equally reliable — they are not.
You usually cannot see the vendor's age. Brokered listings are deliberately anonymous, so unless the listing says "retirement sale" the owner's age is unknown. That is why only 5 of these carry a confirmed retirement motive. Once you know the company name — which comes out at first contact — you can check the PSC register in two minutes and know their age exactly.
Asking prices here are frequently property, not business. Several of these quote a price at three or four times turnover, which almost always means a freehold is bundled in. That matters enormously for you: buying the trade without the building is a far smaller cheque, and the retiring owner often prefers to keep the freehold and rent it to you — which gives them the income they actually want and cuts your entry price dramatically. Always ask whether the property can be separated.

The listings

Sorted with confirmed retirement sales first, then by size. Every title links to the live listing.

ListingSector / locationAskingTurnoverPrice ÷ T/OSource
Specialist Haulage Company retiring your sector Retirement stated. LEASEHOLD — so the £1.3m is NOT property. That is c.2x turnover for a haulier, which is steep: you are buying a fleet and a balance sheet, not earnings. Agent: Kings Business, ref 51486. HaulageStaffordshire £1.30m £656k 1.98× Daltons
Long-Standing Independent Car Garage retiring your sector Retirement sale — but marked UNDER OFFER. Worth a back-up approach only. Garage / MOTDerbyshire £850k £575k 1.48× Daltons
MOT & Repair Garage retiring your sector Retirement sale. Price is 3x turnover — freehold-led, so the trading business is cheap. Garage / MOTDerbyshire £985k £325k 3.03× Daltons
Engineers Consultancy retiring OWNER RETIRING, stated. Small ticket. Listing ref is old (DB12xxxxx) — likely long unsold. EngineeringCoalville, Leicestershire £110k £222k 0.5× Daltons
Sheet Metal Fabricator retiring Retirement sale stated. EngineeringLeicester £300k — — Daltons
Commercial Vehicle Sales your sector Large turnover, directly in Ade's sector. Commercial vehiclesStaffordshire £1.80m £4.40m 0.41× Daltons
Used Car Dealership and MOT Centre your sector Motor tradeDerbyshire £150k £1.90m 0.08× Daltons
Scaffolding Contractors Construction servicesLeicestershire £2.50m £1.88m 1.33× Daltons
Commercial Vehicle Renovation Company your sector Offers invited — no price anchor, which suits a structured offer. Commercial vehiclesStaffordshire — £1.86m — Daltons
Commercial & Industrial Cleaning Company Contract cleaning — sticky recurring revenue, exactly the 'boring cash-generative' profile. Facilities / cleaningDerbyshire £875k £1.52m 0.57× EMF Group (ref MZ036032V)
Precision Engineering Company (large-format CNC) UNDER OFFER. Order book c.£250k. EngineeringDerbyshire £1.25m £1.46m 0.86× Daltons
Group Specialising in Steering and Hydraulics Offers invited. Vehicle systems — adjacent to Ade's sector. EngineeringWest Midlands — £1.30m — Daltons
Forklift Sales, Hire & Service your sector Price range quoted £140k–£570k depending on freehold. £1.28m turnover — strong fit for Ade. Materials handlingWest Midlands £140k £1.28m 0.11× EMF Group (ref M36316V)
Specialist Road Haulage (low-loader, heavy plant) your sector Long-established abnormal-load specialist. Old listing ref — likely long unsold. HaulageNottinghamshire £2.40m £1.15m 2.08× Daltons
Precision Engineering Company EngineeringStaffordshire £2.00m £1.08m 1.85× Daltons
Plant Machinery Repairs Provider your sector 20 years trading, EBITDA £200k+, 1.5-acre site. Price is property-led. Plant & machineryStaffordshire £4.75m £1.05m 4.53× Daltons
Heating Engineering Company Freehold included. Building servicesStaffordshire / West Mids £700k £878k 0.8× Daltons
Engineering Provider (design, manufacture, install) 53 active clients, mostly commercial. EngineeringDerbyshire £1.20m £834k 1.44× Daltons
Biomass Boiler Service & Maintenance Service/maintenance contracts — recurring revenue. Building servicesLeicestershire £450k £699k 0.64× Daltons
Industrial Paint Supplier £100k asking on £612k turnover — low entry price. DistributionStoke-on-Trent £100k £612k 0.16× EMF Group (ref M36436V)
Precision Engineering Powerhouse (toolmaking) Freehold or leasehold option — leasehold at £749,995 cuts the entry price. EngineeringNottinghamshire £850k £449k 1.89× Daltons
Industrial Crane / Hiab & Lifting Gear Hire your sector Blue-chip client base. Old listing ref — likely long unsold. Plant hireWest Midlands £1.20m £425k 2.82× Daltons
Haulage Company your sector HaulageDerbyshire — £383k — Daltons
Successful MOT and Service Centre (40+ yrs) your sector Net profit £112,500 claimed on £180k asking price. Garage / MOTNottingham £180k £383k 0.47× Daltons
Secure Overnight Truck Stop your sector Offers invited. Pure transport infrastructure — Ade's world. Transport servicesStaffordshire — £370k — Daltons
Profitable Accident Repair Centre your sector Garage / bodyshopNorth Staffordshire £225k £312k 0.72× Daltons
Accident Repair Centre your sector Garage / bodyshopStaffordshire £225k £312k 0.72× EMF Group (ref P36305V)
Forklift Truck Retail & Repair your sector Materials handlingStaffordshire £500k £312k 1.6× Daltons
Specialist Fluid Power Components & Fittings DistributionNottinghamshire £300k £303k 0.99× Daltons
MOT, Repair & Bodyshop your sector Garage / MOTStafford £170k £236k 0.72× Daltons
Impressive Independent Automotive Service (27 yrs) your sector Net profit £51,004 claimed. Garage / MOTNottingham £100k £180k 0.56× Daltons
Long-Running Mechanical Engineering Company EngineeringStoke-on-Trent — £121k — Daltons
Tool & Plant Hire Company your sector Plant hireWalsall / West Midlands £145k £84k 1.73× Daltons
Arborist & Landscaping Grounds maintenanceDerby £70k £75k 0.93× EMF Group (ref M36324V)
HGV Technology Manufacturer your sector Commercial vehiclesStaffordshire — — — Daltons

On-market needs a different approach to the letters

The cold-letter playbook does not transfer. A brokered sale has a third party in the room whose incentives are not yours.

1

The broker is paid on completion, in cash, at the asking price

They are not neutral. A deferred structure threatens both the size and the timing of their fee, so expect resistance framed as "the vendor wouldn't consider that". Ask early and directly whether the vendor will consider vendor finance or deferred consideration — and ask for that to be put to the vendor, not filtered.

2

Stale listings are where your leverage is

Several of these carry old reference numbers — the crane hire, the low-loader haulage, the Coalville consultancy — which means they have sat unsold for a long time. A vendor twelve months into a failed sale is a completely different negotiator to one who listed last week. Ask the broker how long it has been on the market. That single question tells you whether a structured offer has a chance.

3

Your operator background is worth more here than money

Brokers see a stream of buyers who cannot run the business and cannot fund it. On the haulage, plant and commercial vehicle listings you are the rare buyer who can hold the O-licence and knows the operation. Lead with that — it is the reason a vendor takes your structured offer seriously over a cash offer from someone who will wreck the firm.

4

Separate the property question immediately

On anything priced above roughly two times turnover, ask on the first call whether the freehold can be retained by the vendor and leased to you. It converts an unaffordable deal into a possible one, and gives the retiring owner an index-linked income instead of a lump sum they will only have to reinvest.

5

Run both tracks at once

On-market is faster but competitive and price-anchored. Off-market is slower but you are the only bidder and you set the structure. The 1,120-company list is where a no-money-down deal is genuinely realistic; this page is where a deal could complete sooner if the numbers stand up.

Research only, not advice on any specific transaction. Before you offer on anything here, get the last three years of full accounts, a corporate solicitor and an accountant. Listing figures are unverified.