Company takeover: building a business plan
Verified 20 July 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The business plan is an indispensable document for find the necessary financing to your company takeover project.
It consists of present your strategy and objectives in a concise and reassuring (realistic) way that will convince banks and other investors to participate in your project.
In general, the business plan is structured in 5 parts adapted and more or less detailed depending on the person you are talking to:
- Project Summary
- Team Overview
- Market research
- Business model
- Financial forecast
Your business plan should start with the executive summary or operational summary. It briefly summarizes (2 pages maximum) what your recovery project is.
The goal of this hook is to make your interlocutors want to know more. It should be written carefully to encourage them to read your entire business plan.
The executive summary presents the following:
- Target company Overview : the activity, the products or services offered, the commercial and communication strategy, the values disseminated by the company (ethics, solidarity, ecology).
- Typology of the market market size, target audience, state of competition, opportunities.
- Profiles of your team members : the idea is to highlight your complementarity and the skills that each will bring to the company.
- Key figures : the company's historic and forecasted outcomes. You need to show your reader that your recovery project is profitable.
Finally, it is essential to remind the potential investor why they are studying your case. You need to detail your financing need and how you're going to use the funds.
Please note
It is recommended that you write theexecutive summary last, when you have an overview of your project. It will also be used to develop your “ pitch of presentation a powerful speech that will put your recovery plan in its best light.
The business plan is an opportunity to present the project team members :
- You, the project leader : you had the initiative of the take-back project.
- Your associates : They contribute to the project in one way or another (financially, technically, etc.).
- Your advisors : private actors (lawyers, accountants) or public actors (consular chambers, associations) who accompany you in your project.
This section presents the background, motivations and professional experiences of each, in line with the recovery plan. Your interlocutor needs to see the cohesion between team members, their degree of involvement and the synergy their respective competences.
FYI
Just do itget to the point and to introduce the outreach team that will accompany you at the launch of the recovery project. The idea is to avoid drowning your reader in a flood of less relevant information.
Market research consists of define your market and demonstrate that your product or service responds to an actual request.
Your market research needs to analyze 3 main elements :
- The target market : does the market already exist? If so, for how long? How big is the target market? What is the geographical area? What is the applicable regulation? Are they professional or personal customers? How is the market evolving?
- The demand : it's a matter of studying the target clientele, i.e. consumption patterns, geographical location, mobility, purchasing incentives, average budget and unmet expectations.
- The offer : it's a matter of studying competitive intensity on the target market. Are there competitors? How many are they? What prices do they offer? What is their market share? How do they communicate?
It is at the end of this analysis that you will have to define your positioning in the target market :
- What market failures will you exploit?
- What competitive advantages will allow you to stand out: the superior quality of your product, a very low price, a patent or technical know-how, partnerships with recognized brands?
The Company Resource and Information Hub (PRISM) make available market studies covering all sectors industry, commerce, services and crafts in France and in many foreigner countries.
Who shall I contact
Company Resource and Information Hub (Prism)
The Prism is a space within the François-Mitterrand Library (BnF, Paris 13) gathering documentation for professionals (market studies, business directories, specialized press, etc.). These resources are available on-site only.
Address
Quai François Mauriac
75706 Paris
Schedules
Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 - 20:00
Sunday: 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Telephone
01 53 79 59 59
Rates
€5 for a day ticket / €24 for an annual Pass
Free access for jobseekers and beneficiaries of social benefits
Free access for everyone from 5:00pm only.
The business model or business model consists of showcase your product or service and explain how your company will exploit this product to generate revenue.
You can define your business strategy using the Next 4 items :
- Price : what is your pricing policy (pricing grid, formulas, degressive prices)? Do you make a margin on the sale of the main product, or its accessories? Is the product sold on an ad hoc basis or through a subscription system?
- Product : what are the characteristics of your product or service? What are its advantages over the competition? By whom is it made and how will it be stored?
- Distribution : Does the company distribute the product in a physical store or on the internet? With or without intermediate distributors?
- Communication : what is your marketing strategy? What channels will you use to promote the company (website creation, social networks, TV, flyers, etc.)? What image of the company do you want to broadcast?
The financial part of the business plan allows your potential investors d'to assess cost-effectiveness of your recovery plan. This part gathers multiple indicators.
Projected profit and loss account
The projected income statement allows you to to determine the result of each accounting year, whether profit or loss.
The projected income statement shall contain the following information :
- Estimated turnover : You can calculate it based on your market research.
- Forecast Expenses : these are operating expenses (purchases of goods, staff costs, overheads) and financial charges (repayment of loans with interest, advances on current account of partners, etc.).
Forecast balance sheet
The forecast balance sheet gives an overview of the company heritage on the closing date of each accounting year.
The forecast balance shall include 2 items :
- Active : it corresponds to all the rights and assets that the company possesses. You can see fixed assets intended to serve the company in a sustainable manner (goodwill, leasing rights, equity, furniture, equipment) and current assets which is mobilizable in the short term (claims, stocks, cash).
- Liabilities : it corresponds to the overall indebtedness of the company to third parties (borrowings, supplier debts, tax debts, staff salaries) and in respect of of the partners (equity injections, advances on current account of a member) if it is a business.
Financing plan
The funding plan consists of encrypt trade allowance project and to build the financial resources plan.
The idea is to determine the needs to be financed and assigned resources to the project, both at start-up and during each accounting year.
The financing plan therefore lists the following information:
- Requirements to be financed : investments (furniture, machinery, software, website, securities acquisition) and working capital requirements.
- Assigned Resources : capital injections, bank loans, advances in current accounts of members.
Cash flow budget
The cash flow budget is used to highlight the time lags between receipts and disbursements in an accounting year for determine cash balance.
The cash flow budget shall include the following information:
- Cash Receipts : this is all the cash received by the company (customer payments, capital and current account contributions, loans).
- Disbursements : this refers to all cash outflows planned by the company (investments, payouts to suppliers, repayments of loans, payouts to staff).
Who can help me?
The public service accompanying companies
Do you have a project, a difficulty, a question of daily life?
Simple and free - you will be called back within 5 days by THE advisor who can help you.
Search tools
National Library of France (BNF)