03: Potential downsides to consider

There are potential downsides to listing, and these include the high costs involved with the exercise and the ongoing professional fees that will be necessary. In some cases, adviser’s fees can run into six figures.

Your company will become vulnerable to market fluctuations and to the possibility of being taken over. It will also have to comply with rigorous regulatory and corporate governance requirements.

Before taking the decision to float, it is worth paying due consideration to the fact that owner-managers will have to relinquish some management control of the business.

The objectives of the new shareholders may be very different from those of the original owners, and substantial investors may even want their own representatives appointed to the board.