Speaker- Alan Skilling

Stirling Rotary meeting July 21st.  2017

President Stewart Wilson welcomed a good turnout of members; there were no visitors.  The president thanked members for attending the recent Presidents Lunch at his home.  This had proved a great success, with even the weather obliging.

Speaker for the day was our own Alan Skilling, who chose to talk about an activity close to his heart, namely Buying and Selling a Business.  This is a complicated process, with lawyers, bankers, surveyors and accountants all involved. There can be various reasons for a proposed purchase/sale, such as a company actively pursuing a policy of acquisition, retirement of a principal or pressure from the bank, due to perceived financial difficulties.  

One of the biggest problems associated with this activity is arriving at a fair price, as there are so many variables and not all the facts and figures may be revealed to all parties at the start.  Factors affecting the value of a business or a part of a business include assets and liabilities, goodwill, likely dividends and projected future profits.  Minority shareholdings are inevitably worth proportionally less than majority or total shareholdings. Some types of company e.g. dentists and arable farms are fairly simple to value; others are not. After valuation comes Due Diligence, which is fraught with problems.  The outcome of all this is that there is plenty of scope for lawsuits, sometimes even coming before the Court of Session.

Philip Allison gave the Vote of Thanks, which was enthusiastically supported. More information on Stirling Rotary Club is available on the website www.stirling.rotary1010.org.


Ranald Ross-Watt
Communications Committee