Last Orders — The UK Retirement Wave Buyers Can Catch Before Closing Time

The UK Business Closure Wave as an Acquisition Opportunity: why retiring founders' companies close instead of selling, and what that means for buyers

Guy Bartlett has spent more than two decades buying, selling and advising on owner-managed companies, and he is watching a generation of UK founders reach their 70s with no one to hand the business to. He quotes the government figure: 762,000 UK companies closed in 2024/25, and not all of them because they failed. An owner has three routes out: die, sell or close. Selling is the hard one, so firms that were earning revenue, paying tax and employing people simply shut. He argues those closures are the biggest opening UK business owners have for acquisition-led growth, and a way to keep a founder's legacy trading instead of letting it disappear. Listeners leave seeing the closure numbers as a list of businesses they could buy, and knowing why the owners behind them are running out of time.

About Guy Bartlett

Guy Bartlett, podcast guest

Fractional M&A Expert Helping Business Owners Grow Through Acquisition

Nearly 30 years In business£145M Transition revenue acquired by coached clients42 years Military service2006 First deal

Guy Bartlett is a UK-based entrepreneur, M&A expert, military veteran, and founder of Fidelis Advisory, a Cheshire-based fractional M&A firm that helps ambitious business owners grow through acquisition, exit successfully, and navigate the complex realities of buying, selling, and transitioning companies.

Guy is not simply an adviser commenting from the sidelines. He leads a team of acquisition experts with hands-on experience in strategy, sourcing, negotiation, finance, deal structure, and post-acquisition integration.

With nearly 30 years in business and more than two decades of transaction experience, Guy brings a rare combination of commercial insight, deal-making expertise, and people-first leadership. His career began in sales, marketing, direct response, and data-driven growth, where he helped scale an agency from £32,000 in fee revenue to almost £7 million in turnover within six years. That journey gave him his first exposure to shareholder structures, acquisitions, and the realities of building business value beyond day-to-day revenue.

Since completing his first acquisition in 2006, Guy has bought, built, advised on, and guided businesses across multiple sectors. He later founded Business Buyers Club, where he helped entrepreneurs understand acquisition as a serious growth strategy, with coached clients acquiring an estimated £145 million in transition revenue.

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#540 - Guy Bartlett - Buying Businesses
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The Next 100 Days Podcast· Listen to Guy Bartlett on air