Selling your business: it
starts with a wealth plan
For many entrepreneurs, a business is more than an asset – it reflects identity and purpose, and is the engine of family wealth. The decision to sell it or partially step away is therefore a defining moment. Managed well, it converts years of effort into enduring family capital, but handled poorly, it can erode value. It’s a transition that calls for careful planning well before the proceeds are realised. Stanley Broun, Head of Fiduciary and Tax, and Andrew Bryson, Portfolio Manager, set out what you need to know.
The process of converting a business into personal wealth typically unfolds across three phases. Successful outcomes depend on preparation ahead of the transaction, disciplined decision-making during it, and thoughtful stewardship thereafter.
1. Before the sale: structuring the family architecture
As an entrepreneur, your focus is generally on maximising the value of your business. Equally important, however, is whether your personal wealth structures are prepared for an influx of funds. Before a sale or transition, we work with families to review:
The fiduciary and tax specialists at Sanlam Private Wealth conduct a comprehensive estate and balance sheet review, examining how capital will move through family structures once proceeds are realised.
Where appropriate, we incorporate compliant offshore solutions – including Mauritian and Guernsey structures – to support long‑term estate continuity.
The objective is simple: when the sale goes through, the family architecture should already be in place.
2. During the transaction: protecting the value created
Business exits are complex, involving legal, financial and personal considerations. Common elements include:
During this phase, we work alongside legal and corporate advisers to ensure the personal financial implications of the transaction are carefully managed. This includes structuring the flow of proceeds, managing exposure to risk, and ensuring capital is positioned deliberately rather than reactively.
Decisions made during this period often have lasting consequences for both you as the entrepreneur and your broader family wealth structure.
3. After the sale: stewardship of family capital
Once the transaction concludes, a new phase begins – the focus shifts from building a business to stewarding family wealth. Entrepreneurs often face new challenges:
Our role at Sanlam Private Wealth is to help you and your family design a long‑term sustainable wealth structure, including:
As an entrepreneur, you often accumulate the majority of your wealth in a single domestic asset – your business. After a sale, the priority shifts to transforming this concentrated wealth into a globally diversified investment portfolio designed to preserve and compound capital over the long term.
At Sanlam Private Wealth, we don’t fit your wealth into off-the-shelf funds. Unlike unit trust funds, a private client portfolio is customised to your unique circumstances and long-term vision – offering greater control, transparency and flexibility.
A successful business sale shouldn’t only benefit the current generation – it should establish a structure capable of supporting a family across generations. This requires careful planning around:
When implemented effectively, these frameworks help ensure that wealth created through entrepreneurship endures well beyond a single generation.
You’ve spent decades building your business. Stepping away is not the end of the journey – it’s the start of a new one: a moment to intentionally redesign capital, family and legacy for the future.
For further information, please contact Stanley Broun at stanleyb@privatewealth.sanlam.co.za or Andrew Bryson at andrewbry@privatewealth.sanlam.co.za.
The formation and registration of trusts, and the provision of independent trusteeships – both local and offshore.
The creation of BEE, charitable, special and Shariah trusts compliant with regulatory and legislative requirements.
The administration of deceased estates in South Africa and abroad.
Advice on complex structures, asset restructuring and bequests in foreign jurisdictions.
Advice on emigration and immigration, foreign earnings and the application of any double taxation agreements.
Updating trust deeds to ensure they’re in line with the latest changes in the trust environment.
Updating and/or drafting of wills dealing with South African and/or foreign assets.
Advice on the establishment and management of charitable organisations, their tax status and tax deductible donations.
Advice on the potential tax consequences and reporting obligations if you hold a US passport or green card, or if you have children living in the US.
Guidance on the financial implications of life-changing events, such as getting married, divorce or the birth of a child.
