About
From the first honest review to a completed sale
Appleton Strategic helps owner-managed businesses get ready for an exit — and then sees the sale through.
James Moorhouse
Founder, Appleton Strategic
James spent more than twenty years building and running a manufacturing business — operational experience, from the shop floor up, that few advisers can match. Alongside it he built a self-storage business, served as a director in high-street retail, and directs a commercial property portfolio.
He has also taken a business all the way through to a completed exit. Two decades in the trenches of running a company — including seeing one through to the end — give him a rounded, real-world view of what makes a business saleable and what doesn’t. He specialises in exit-readiness advisory: helping owner-managed SMEs get genuinely sale-ready long before they come to market.
“After more than 20 years running my own business, including seeing one through to the very end, I wanted a new challenge — one where I could put that experience to work for other people rather than just myself. I’ve made the mistakes, I’ve lived through the hard decisions, and I know what a business actually needs to look like to be sale-ready. Appleton Strategic lets me pass that experience on directly — real, practical solutions for business owners, not just theory.”
When it’s time to sell
One adviser, a full sales operation behind the deal
Appleton Strategic does the advisory work — readiness, valuation, buyer research, and running the process on your behalf. When the business goes to market, the transaction itself runs through New Broad Street Business Sales, an established business-sales firm. You keep one point of contact throughout.
What you can expect
Plain speaking
An honest read on where the business stands, in language that doesn't need a corporate-finance dictionary.
One point of contact
The same person through the review, the preparation and the sale — not a handover between teams.
No pressure to transact
If now isn't the time, that's a legitimate answer. The work holds its value whether or not you sell.
Confidential by default
Nothing about your business is shared, listed or discussed without your say-so.
It pays to have someone in your corner who's done it before.
A first conversation is free and confidential. No pitch — just an honest read on where the business stands.
Book a discovery call