How to Increase your Exit Value
The most valuable venues to Xenia are those that can demonstrate that they have future growth potential, so in valuing a wedding venue there are certain elements that significantly boost the value you will achieve on exit. As it boosts value to us too, by removing some of the unknowns, it helps both sides of the transaction gain the most value.
So, if you are planning to exit in the next few years, read on to find out where you should you invest your time, money and energy in order to sell your wedding venue business at the highest price.
What will add the most value to your wedding venue?
Off peak bookings. The number of future bookings on off peak and mid week dates is your evidence of venue popularity. Selling weekend and holiday dates in the summer months is relatively easy, but can you demonstrate that couples like your venue enough to choose a less convenient date to have their wedding with you, rather than go elsewhere?
Venue hire prices. You’ll be achieving a good hire price for peak dates and discounting for off-peak dates, but can you only fill less popular dates by offering very significant discounts? Why are we only interested in venue hire rates? The value for us is in the venue, not the chef. We invest in long term assets so are interested in the income from venue hire , rather than income or commission from your catering operation. So, don’t invest time bringing catering in-house as it won’t add value on exit.
Effective marketing. Statistics from London School of Economics, who studied 5 year data on wedding venues listed on Guides for Brides, showed the benefit of a long term approach to marketing, with a consistent message across wedding directories, and your own website proving key to increasing Google ranking and building the robust pipeline of enquiries and bookings an investor would be looking for.
A great, motivated team. We like to work with the best in the industry, so recruit the best staff you can afford and invest in their development. An extra £10,000 paid to get the best venue manager in the area can add £100,000 to your venue’s value, as it helps ensure a smooth transition of ownership.
Planning consent and licensing. If your planning consents and licences currently restrict your growth potential, for example limiting the number of weddings or being unreasonably restrictive on sound levels or licensing hours, now is the time to take action. If you have an amicable and trusting relationship with neighbours, planners and the licensing department they’ll be happy to help you grow a more commercially sustainable business, but it can be harder to get them onside if they feel you are about to sell.
“There is a never-ending list of ways a venue owner or operator can grow their business, but to achieve the best price on exit, the key is to know which activities add the most value.”
Our recommended industry specialists to help with this process
Your time is precious, and each of the 4 steps outlined above to add value to your wedding venue business takes either time or marketing budget, so you may want to consult with a wedding venue consultant or wedding industry specialist to help you get started. Here are a few key contacts that can help with different areas:
Kelly Chandler: Kelly has had successful careers as a wedding planner and venue consultant, and has added executive coaching for wedding venue owners to the services she offers. She has the knowledge and expertise to identify areas that a venue could develop, put a plan in place and then most importantly to support the venue owner in actually delivering the plan.
Regional Experts: If your wedding venue is in Wales, Zoe Binning is a wedding venue consultant who offers a complete support service for wedding venues in Wales, covering everything from marketing strategy to training your team. In Scotland, look no further than The Wedding Guru, run by Oskar Gilchrist. Oskar was a successful wedding planner and sales consultant for many years and has now turned his skills towards venue sales and marketing. Xenia Venues only owns and operates wedding venues in the south of England, but we’re happy to signpost you towards resources if you are in other parts of the UK.
Big Day Agency: This is the only specialist wedding venue marketing agency in the UK and is the inhouse agency for Guides for Brides. Nikita Thorne and her team manage accounts for a number of large hospitality brands and venues to help them get the best return on investment from existing digital marketing as well as placing them in front of couples and planners through hard-to-reach channels such as podcasts, TikTok, online articles and influencer posts. Their work includes increasing return on investment by making improvements to the venue’s website, directory listings, Google position and social media to increase the number of high quality leads through a range of channels.
The Venue Experts: In addition to offering wedding venue consultancy, in-house training and marketing services, this company focuses on the customer journey in order to improve conversion rates for wedding venues, so that enquiries are never wasted. Stacey and her team become the venue’s round-the-clock dedicated outsourced sales team, responding quickly to prospective couples with messages that instantly engage them and filter out unqualified leads. They manage communication from enquiry to booking, with your in-house team taking care of venue show-rounds, and are a particularly valuable resource for the many venues that don’t have a dedicated sales team.
Finally, speak to us! We’re a small team, so can guarantee absolute discretion, and were experts in identifying and supporting wedding venue growth before joining Xenia Venues. Alison has assisted the growth plans of wedding venues and businesses for over 30 years, and James can help venues quantify the value that a particular activity could add to your exit value. Between us we can support you in your growth and be ready to take over the reins when you are ready to transition out of your business.
Written by
Alison Hargreaves
Alison has gained a reputation for championing the commercial success of wedding venues in the UK. She supported wedding venues throughout the pandemic through her work with the UK Wedding Taskforce, and throughout her long career with Guides for Brides she has helped thousands of venue owners and operators to grow their business.
She assists Xenia Venues in identifying owners of suitable wedding venues that might consider selling their venue, and helps both parties achieve the best price from the sale.
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