AI buyer matching for UK business sales

Sell Ltd combines three sources: (1) Companies House SIC-code filtering to find strategic acquirers already in your sector, (2) director-network graph analysis to find serial acquirers, and (3) the confidential marketplace where verified buyers actively browse listings. Chris shortlists 30–150 real acquisition candidates per listing depending on sector size.

AI buyer matching is the automated shortlist of strategic acquirers most likely to buy your business, ranked by fit. Chris scores each candidate on sector match (SIC code), size compatibility, prior acquisition history, director track record and geographic proximity, then orders the list by weighted fit score. You approve which candidates to approach before any email goes out.

No. Sell Ltd uses licensed B2B data sources plus public Companies House records. Every buyer contact routes through licensed enrichment providers with compliant opt-out handling. We do not scrape LinkedIn, and we do not send unsolicited email without a lawful basis under UK GDPR.

A mix of trade acquirers (companies buying competitors or complementary businesses), private equity firms doing sub-£20m bolt-ons, family offices, and individual buyers with prior deal history. Every buyer verifies identity and signs the NDA before seeing your identifying details. Time-wasters and casual browsers are screened out at the NDA gate.

Most broker 'databases' are lists of enquirers from past listings — a stale marketplace with a paywall. Chris rebuilds the buyer shortlist for every listing from live Companies House data. If a competitor incorporated last month and just filed accounts, they're in your shortlist this week — not in a broker's 2019 spreadsheet.

All UK SIC codes are supported. Sectors with more incorporated companies (professional services, e-commerce, B2B software, construction, care) generate larger shortlists. Very niche sectors (single-SIC businesses with fewer than 500 UK peers) get smaller but higher-quality shortlists — Chris supplements with adjacent SICs where relevant.

You approve every outreach. Typical outreach for a £500k–£3m sale is 60–120 approaches over the first 4–6 weeks. Response rates run 8–14% at the enquiry stage and 1–3% convert to serious buyer meetings. Volume beyond 200 approaches rarely improves outcomes and risks confidentiality.

Yes. Paste a list of names or Companies House numbers into your dashboard and Chris drafts the pitch email for each. Any buyer you introduce is tagged as 'seller-introduced' and, if they complete, the standard 1.5% platform fee still applies (that pays for the deal room, NDA infrastructure and Chris's screening — even for buyers you sourced).

Chris shortlists UK-incorporated subsidiaries of overseas parents where they exist, and can approach headquarter entities directly via published contact addresses. Cross-border deals typically bring in a specialist adviser at heads-of-terms stage for jurisdictional tax and legal work.

Every approach is a two-stage handshake: a confidential teaser (sector, region, size band — no identifying details) goes out first; identifying details, IM and financials only release after the buyer verifies identity and signs the Sell Ltd standard NDA. You can veto any specific buyer being approached before the teaser sends.

Chris drafts targeted outreach to companies with a lawful basis under UK GDPR — typically legitimate interest for B2B acquisition enquiries to a director-level contact at a company registered in a compatible SIC. Every email includes a one-click opt-out and honours suppression lists. This is standard B2B corporate finance outreach practice, not spam.

Publish your listing (via the 24-hour IM builder) and Chris begins building your buyer shortlist immediately. You'll see the ranked shortlist inside your dashboard within 24–48 hours of listing. Approve which buyers to approach and outreach begins the same day.