Should I interfere?

[Mark T Jones]

A little background:

Took my car for MOT to my usual garage. They're a friendly, helpful bunch always reasonably priced too.

They have recently 'bought' another local business - a fully functioning workshop with MOT, customers etc. The former owner has emigrated.

Both are Ltd companies.

From an overheard conversation, it's clear that thy have no idea what they have/haven't bought - that specific conversation related to the fact that equipment they thought they owned was subject to a lease.

My own research has revealed that the vendor has £100K of debt secured by a floating charge over the assets.

So here's the thing - nothing in this for me, other than I don't want them to f**k up - we're matey in a mechanic/customer kind of way.

Should I call and flag my concerns, or keep my pointy nose out?

 

[WaveJumper]

Mark difficult gut feeling is you keep your nose out but this depends on how well you know the individuals, would they be amenable to sit down and have a drink and 'chew things over'. Have to say this speaks volumes about another thread on here regarding buying and selling business and the massive pit falls that are out there for the uninitiated. .............. good luck with this one cant see you getting much sleep this weekend, or do i see free MOT's on the horizon for life ?

 

[UrbanRetail]

Put yourself in their shoes.. If someone could offer you some advice wouldn't you want it? I certainly would.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Mark difficult gut feeling is you keep your nose out but this depends on how well you know the individuals, would they be amenable to sit down and have a drink and 'chew things over'. Have to say this speaks volumes about another thread on here regarding buying and selling business and the massive pit falls that are out there for the uninitiated. .............. good luck with this one cant see you getting much sleep this weekend, or do i see free MOT's on the horizon for life ?

Cheers

In reality downside to me is zero (unless they fail, in which case I will always be wondering....)

 

[Mark T Jones]

Cheers

In reality downside to me is zero (unless they fail, in which case I will always be wondering....)

Kind of; but people aren't always receptive to tough advice..

 

[pentel]

If the deal is done it may be too late to make a big difference.

It all depends if they are the sort of people who will listen. They probably need advice but do they realise it? And if they do will they listen?

This forum has lots of threads where the original poster doesn't like what they hear and flounce off having a hissy fit, which is fine. In the real world the consequences may be more of a challenge.

 

[kkfcXHzmCc]

I would help them out. I have a mechanic down the end of my road who does all my work; if I heard or saw something etc. I'd tell him. Though, it depends how you phrase it!

 

[DavidWH]

They may be more upset about you overhearing the conversation.

Call them, apologise for overhearing their conversation, however, it's been playing on your mind, and you've done some digging, and how you feel you should share it.

Let them decide whether they want your input, or not.

He's a mechanic, you take your car there for his service advice, I'm not sure what you do, but they may appreciate some independent advice from a fellow business person.

 

[obscure]

If the deal is done it may be too late to make a big difference.

True re the deal but the consequences may be avoidable if they are warned.

 

[Mark T Jones]

True re the deal but the consequences may be avoidable if they are warned.

This - particularly re gaining title to unleased assets

 

[Mark T Jones]

They may be more upset about you overhearing the conversation.

Call them, apologise for overhearing their conversation, however, it's been playing on your mind, and you've done some digging, and how you feel you should share it.

Let them decide whether they want your input, or not.

He's a mechanic, you take your car there for his service advice, I'm not sure what you do, but they may appreciate some independent advice from a fellow business person.

He knows I heard the conversation.

I'm going to call this afternoon.

Thanks all!

 

[estwig]

Kind of; but people aren't always receptive to tough advice..

I regularly have to give people bad news, but at the same time it's good advice. They rarely take it well.

You got a tough call.

 

[HFE Signs]

I wouldn't suggest this is something to do over the phone or by email, you could drop by and say something like 'I'm really sorry but this has been on my mind, I consider you guys as friends and I'd like to offer some free advice, I accidentally overheard a conversation and.....' I'm sure they would be grateful of you having their best interest at heart.

 

[BristolBiz]

I once saw this sleeping dog.........

 

[simon field]

Let us know how you get on Mark.

 

[tony84]

Would you want to know?
I would rather someone overhear my conversation, be a nosey sod and save me tens of thousands of pounds than be a nosey sod, overhear my conversation and not say anything.

Also, as the vendor is abroad, if it does all go tits up, there is nobody to sue.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

It's probably too late. It sounds like the ship has well and truly sailed (and taken the former owner with it!)

It never ceases to amaze me how casually small business owners do things like this without taking even basic advice. In this case he may not even know what it is that he's bought. Is it the shares in the company (in which case he's taken on the £100k debt) or just the assets and goodwill (in which case he hasn't taken on the debt but may lose the assets under the floating charge if a receiver's appointed.

"Also, as the vendor is abroad, if it does all go tits up, there is nobody to sue."

He may not even have a claim. The law doesn't protect you against stupidity, and you're expected to do due diligence when purchasing a business. He could only sue the former owner if he had misrepresented the position to him.

If only because of that debt he's definitely going to need good legal advice as a matter of urgency.

 

[promdressers]

As per HFE.
If it is not too far, go and see them. The receptivity may well depend on what they are are doing at that precise moment, and you need body language and facial expession to guide you, in as much as how much you say, and how you develop the conversation.
You may even decide to temporarily abort the mission, if, say, they are having a blazing row with a customer.

Or an ex-business owner

 

[Opinion87]

I'd wan to know.

 

[HFE Signs]

What did you do in the end Mark?

 

[Paul Norman]

I think that if, as you seem to, I knew them reasonably well I would approach them and ask if they wanted some advice, or a look over the new business. I would save the bad news until after they had agreed to do that, and until I had taken a sufficient look to know how bad the information was.

 

[Ziggrs]

I think that you should offer them an advice if they agree on some discounts. I mean, if you help them to keep their business, then it would be fair for you to get at least discount from it

 

[Newchodge]

I think that you should offer them an advice if they agree on some discounts. I mean, if you help them to keep their business, then it would be fair for you to get at least discount from it

That is such a helpful piece of advice. Do you not understand the concepts of friendship and ethics?

 

[AlanJ1]

That is such a helpful piece of advice. Do you not understand the concepts of friendship and ethics?

I think they are in the profit > friendship/ethics stage of life.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I think that you should offer them an advice if they agree on some discounts. I mean, if you help them to keep their business, then it would be fair for you to get at least discount from it

I'm glad you're not my friend...

 

[Ian PES]

(This thread is a bit old now but anyway)....Most of my family are in the motor trade and the truth is that people running garages are mechanics / bodywork specialists i.e, trained technicians. They don't usually have any formal training in business so they rely on good sense and instinct but I think that only works up to a point and if they stray too far from what they know they can come unstuck. So it sounds like you should offer to help. But it sounds like it might be a bit late to save them from error(?) -they have bought a business with a load of debt that they were not aware of?

 

[AllUpHere]

Come on Mark, we are dying to know what happened.

 

[estwig]

Yea come on Mark?

We're hanging here!!!

 

[STDFR33]

Mark just put us out of our misery.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

@Mark T Jones Good grief... you're as bad as The Line of Duty!!

 

[STDFR33]

@Mark T Jones Good grief... you're as bad as The Line of Duty!!

Worse.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Ok. I made the call. Turns out they aren’t quite as clueless as I’d thought and have used a solicitor (but there are a few holes)

Slightly embarrassed but glad I did.

 

[paulears]

Never be afraid of giving people information you have, if you are doing it for honest reasons. I'm getting on a bit now and in my area there's a couple of newcomers - keen in their early twenties and they're doing OK and are good lads. They mentioned a client they're about to start working for on Facebook and I made sure they knew he was notorious for not paying, then getting firms to do the next job with the promise of the payment for the first job then a cert! They've pinched a few jobs from me, so are competitors, but their response to my advice was most appreciated and it's good to be OK with other people in the area.

 

[adamuk18]

yes help them out they will be grateful.

it reminds me of a story years ago. Somebody had purchased a sun bed shop for say 80k including assets.

What they never thought about was this.. for weeks afterwards people coming in that had bought a course of 60 minutes say and they were footing the electricity bill. complete oversight.