‘Sell or Acquire?’: The Question on Every Agency Owner’s Lips

I’ve spoken to four separate agency leaders in the past week who’ve said the same thing:

“We don’t know whether to acquire and grow or grow to sell.”

As agency founders, we’re wired to chase momentum. We thrive on change, we love a new

challenge, and we’re rarely satisfied sitting still. So it’s not surprising that acquisition, or planning

for a sale, can both feel like exciting next steps (especially if you’ve reached a growth plateau).

But before you go any further, I’d encourage you to take a step back. Not to look at your

business, but to look at yourself.

Start With Your Vision First

Before you decide whether to sell or acquire, or even whether you need to make a big move at

all, get really honest about what you actually want.

For your life. Your career. Your energy.

Ask yourself:

● What kind of work do I want to be doing in 3, 5, or 10 years?

● What kind of work do I never want to do again?

● How do I want to feel in my day-to-day life?

● What does success look like beyond revenue or headcount?

● What role do I want to play in the business (if any)?

● What’s the life I’m building toward - and is there more than one way to get there?

● Why am I really contemplating an acquisition or a sale?

I spoke to Richard O’Donnell, Founding Partner of Pura Advisory, who specialise in advising

business owners across a wide variety of sectors, and it appears that agency founders are not

alone:

"In the 21 years I’ve been advising business owners, I’ve not met a single client who didn’t go

on a journey of discovery when working out what the right course of action might be for them.

Building a successful business and, in many cases, balancing this with a busy and fulfilling

home life, means it’s unsurprising that founders haven’t had the time or headspace to identify

and consider their options, have a view on what their business is worth, know who the right

acquirors may be or fully appreciate the steps needed to orchestrate a successful transaction.

Seeking good advice at an early stage, well before a transaction is needed or desired, is the

best advice I can give.”

Without this clarity, it’s easy to get swept up in someone else’s narrative of success. You start

chasing the shiny thing, an acquisition, a sale, a merger, without checking whether it aligns with

what you really want.

This clarity isn’t a luxury, it’s a compass. And it makes the decision ahead far easier to navigate.

Once you’re clear on what you want, it becomes much easier to filter the choices through the

lens of your life, not just your P&L.

Now, To Sell or Acquire?

Once you're clear on what you're building towards, you can start weighing up the options.

Yes, both paths might look exciting. Both might unlock new opportunities. But they’re not

interchangeable, and they require two very different strategies.

Team Sell It

While working towards an exit is a ‘traditional’ route for agency owners to pursue, the realities of

making it happen for a multiple that makes sense is no mean feat.

If you’re considering growing to sell, ask yourself:

● What kind of buyer do you want to attract?

You’ll have a very different experience depending on if a network, independent group,

consultancy, private equity firm or even a client-side organisation acquire you.

• What do you want your role to be after the sale?

  You might be happy to stay on for 2–3 years, perhaps you want to learn from a larger

  team or are you hoping for a clean break after a hard slog!?

  
  

• What does your agency need to look like to be attractive to a buyer?

  Think: positioning, recurring revenue, client concentration, leadership team

  independence

  
  

• Are your finances and operations due-diligence ready?

  There are plenty of advisors who can help support you here (we can make intros to

  several The Agency Adventure expert partners). But ultimately, you may have a 2+ year

  journey until you are considered ready for sale… does that fit your timeline?

  
  

• Are you building a brand that can exist without you?

  Consider how you can systemise every aspect of your business to operate without you

  for a sale… then ask the bigger question: if the agency can operate without you and still

  bring you a nice wage, is there even a need to sell right now?

Team Buy It

Acquiring another agency can be an exciting way to scale, but without a clear purpose and plan,

it can just as easily drain your time, money, and culture.

If you’re considering acquiring to grow, ask yourself:

• Why are you acquiring?

  Maybe your motivation is to fill a complementary skills gap, work with a different type of

  client, expand into a new geography, build a more profitable business, grow something

  with a larger multiple to sell at a later date. Or are you really interested in the prestige of

  increased headcount and revenue? It’s OK if that’s the case, but be honest with yourself

  as it may also save you some hard cash and heartache!

  
  

• Do you have a clear integration plan for people, culture, operations, positioning?

  Think about what the reality will be of acquiring or merging with another business. Are

  you ready to let go of some of the reins? What will it really be like to work with your new

  agency’s leadership team while they earn out - or are you really buying the top team’s

  experience and network?

  
  

• Do you have the operational maturity to absorb another agency?

  While an acquisition is an exciting time and shows momentum for your existing team, are they going to be ready for it in practice? Consider how you can take them on the

  acquisition journey with you, get them ready for change.

  
  

• How will the acquisition be funded, and what risk does that introduce?

  Maybe you have cash burning a hole in your pocket, in which case a strategic

  acquisition could be a great use of surplus cash flow - but only if it serves your bigger

  purpose and doesn't damage your existing, profitable business.

  
  

• Do you have the leadership capacity (and headspace) to support another business

  through change?

  An acquisition is no mean feat. If you’re still being pulled into client work, chasing

  invoices and pitch decisions, is now the right time to get distracted by M&A? This

  acquisition and integration will become your full time role for a while… are you ready for

  it realistically?
  

• Will this move get you closer to your long-term vision, or distract you from it?

  Hopefully you’ve got a long term personal vision for you and the business. Is an

  acquisition going to support that and get you there faster… or just add more noise to the

  chaos!?

There’s no right answer

I've worked with agencies that have been acquired. I’ve seen others take the leap and buy

businesses. And I’ve had chats with founders who feel stuck, caught between the pressure to

grow and the fear of staying still

There’s no “right” answer. But there is your answer. And it should be shaped by what you want

for your business, your team, and your life. Start with your vision. Then choose the path that

gets you closer to it.

Whatever you decide, don’t rush it:

• Don’t decide based on FOMO

• Don’t build toward someone else’s definition of success

• Don’t make a decision based on one quarter

• Don’t underestimate how long either route can take

If you’re wondering which way to go (or if you need to make a shift at all!), I’d love to help. This

is the exact kind of thing we help you work through at Agency Adventure. It all starts with a

conversation.