There is the operating business.
Then there is the commercial real estate underneath it.
Those assets may have grown together, but selling one does not automatically determine what should happen to the other.
We are positioned unusually well for that conversation because we provide both commercial real estate brokerage and business brokerage. Our business-brokerage service includes valuation and exit planning, buyer sourcing, negotiation, due diligence, and closing coordination, while our real estate group handles leasing, landlord representation, acquisitions and dispositions, property valuation, and property management. Browse the full menu under our services.
For an Atlanta business owner approaching an exit, the building therefore belongs in the conversation before the company goes to market.
The buyer may want the company but not the property
A buyer can like the business and still have a different plan for real estate.
Maybe the buyer already owns another facility.
Maybe operations will eventually be consolidated.
Maybe the current building is an excellent fit and the buyer would prefer to stay as a tenant rather than buy it.
Another buyer may see ownership of the real estate as an important part of the transaction.
The seller needs to know which options are acceptable before negotiating from scratch with every interested party.
Our business-brokerage process includes exit planning before buyer sourcing begins.
That is the right time to decide whether the seller is open to selling the property, retaining it and leasing it to the buyer, or evaluating both structures.
The legal and tax consequences belong with the owner's attorney and tax advisers.
Our real estate and business brokerage teams can help make sure the transaction strategy recognizes that two assets are involved.
Keeping the real estate creates a new landlord relationship
A business owner who sells the company but retains the building is changing roles.
Yesterday, the owner controlled both the operating company and the property.
After the sale, the former business owner may become the new business owner's landlord.
That means lease terms suddenly matter in a way they did not when both sides of the arrangement were effectively controlled by the same person.
We provide landlord representation and commercial leasing in addition to business brokerage. Our landlord services include lease-rate strategy, marketing, tenant sourcing, and lease structuring. Occupier-side questions for the buyer can also involve tenant representation.
A seller considering this route should think beyond the first rent check.
How long is the buyer expected to remain?
What space is included?
Who handles property expenses?
What happens if the buyer grows or shrinks?
Those are commercial lease questions, not business-sale questions, even though the two transactions may be negotiated at the same time.
Selling both assets requires two valuations
A business valuation and a commercial property valuation are not the same exercise.
Our business-brokerage page says our business valuation work analyzes financials, market comparisons, and industry trends.
Our property-valuation service separately uses commercial sales comparisons, income approaches, cap-rate analysis, and highest-and-best-use considerations.
That separation is important.
A successful operating business does not automatically make the building worth the same multiple as the company.
Likewise, an appreciating Atlanta property may have significant value independent of the operating business inside it.
The owner needs to understand both before deciding what a complete exit should look like.
The building may be worth more under another use
This question can become especially important for older owner-operated properties.
A company may have occupied the same warehouse, flex property, office, or retail building for years because it fit the business well.
A future buyer of the real estate may evaluate the property differently.
Our valuation and consultation services include highest-and-best-use analysis, zoning and land-use review, feasibility studies, redevelopment considerations, and strategic hold-versus-sell planning.
That does not mean every owner should redevelop a property before exiting.
It means the real estate should be evaluated as real estate before it gets casually bundled into a business transaction.
The seller may discover that keeping, selling, leasing, or repositioning the building deserves a separate decision. Recent market context also shows up in current listings and closed deals.
The timing of the two transactions matters
A business sale can move differently from a property disposition.
Buyers perform different due diligence.
Financing may be different.
The business can have employees, customer contracts, inventory, equipment, and operating records to review while the property has leases, title, physical inspections, and other real estate considerations.
Our business-brokerage service specifically includes managing due diligence and coordinating closing, while our commercial practice manages real estate acquisitions and dispositions.
If both assets are moving, somebody needs to understand how those calendars connect.
The worst time to discover that the real estate structure has not been decided is after a serious business buyer is already trying to complete diligence.
Start the exit conversation earlier than the listing
We describe our business brokerage as beginning with valuation and strategic exit timelines, not simply putting a company onto the market.
That is especially sensible for an owner who also controls the property.
There may be financial preparation needed on the business side.
The real estate may need its own valuation.
An existing lease between related entities may need to be reviewed by the owner's advisers.
The seller may want time to decide whether long-term rental income fits retirement plans.
Those decisions are easier before a buyer is waiting for an answer.
Browse more notes on the blog, or start from the Swartz Co homepage. We are based in Sandy Springs and work across Georgia commercial markets, with services spanning brokerage, leasing, valuation, property management, business brokerage, and investment transactions.
Business owners can reach us at 678-973-2776 or through contact us when the exit involves both the company and the property it operates from.