£5m to £27.3m: what changed between the first valuation and the final offer

From £5m to £27.3m: a step by step account of one sale and the decisions that moved the price

Mark Mills OBE took a business from a £5 million starting valuation to a £27.3 million exit. He has built and sold five companies himself, including Cardpoint, which floated on AIM at £7 million and grew to 6,500 cash machines dispensing over £500 million a month, and he now runs owners through the 40 step sale process he codified from those exits. His argument is that the accountant prices a business on how it trades today, while the real number sits in what it is worth to the right buyer at the right moment with the right story attached. He walks the £27.3 million deal through in order, including the conversation with an owner who insisted the business was worth £5 million and not a penny more. Founders hear which moves closed the gap, and which of them they could start this quarter.

About Mark Mills

Mark Mills, podcast guest

OBE Business Sale Advisor Helping UK Founders Maximise Exit Value

5 Businesses built & sold£175M Cardpoint exit valuation6,500 Cash machines in Cardpoint network£500M+ Monthly cash dispensed by Cardpoint network

Mark Mills OBE is a business sale advisor who helps UK founders sell their businesses for maximum value.

He got into this work after spotting overlooked value as a child selling broken biscuits at school and then carrying that instinct into founding and exiting companies. The early biscuit story taught him to see what others ignore and to turn small advantages into commercial wins, a thread that runs through his approach to identifying hidden value in mature businesses. Over time that practicality led him from founding companies to deliberately learning from each exit and packaging those lessons into a repeatable system.

He has built and sold five businesses, most notably building and exiting Cardpoint at a £175 million valuation; Cardpoint floated on AIM at £7 million, grew to 6,500 cash machines and 300 employees, and dispensed over £500 million a month. Since 2007 he has worked as a Non-Executive Chairman and advisor applying his methods to other owners. In December 2024 he was awarded an OBE for services to Business and Charity and he holds the title of Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire.

Day-to-day he steps in as Non-Executive Chairman, works directly with founders to uncover hidden value, and manages the full sale process from preparation through to finding the right buyer.

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Don’t BE for Sale: Mark Mills on Building Leverage and Maximizing Your Exit
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The Exit - Presented By Flippa· Listen to Mark Mills on air