The agreed sale price of a small business for sale, is influenced by a number of factors including revenues, business category, the business location, cash flow multiples and of course, the asking price. Although these factors are important in monitoring small business sales another overlooked factor speaks to fundamental market conditions, in particular the amount of time the business spends on the market. It is possible to study the health of the market by looking at the factor of time as it can determine the demand among buyers and expectations of sellers.

The UK grocery market has also been changing in recent years. Seeing issues on the horizon, it is no surprise that Sainsbury’s and Asda are undertaking strategic investment for the future. The key questions are why do they feel the need to do this now, what will it mean for the UK supermarket scene and what effect will it have on consumers?