Information Memorandum (IM)
Quick answer
A free information memorandum (IM) template for selling a UK business. 14 slides covering the business, market, customers, management, three years of financials, current trading and the sale process. Sent to buyers after they sign the NDA. Edit online, download the PDF or send it as a tracked link.
Customise it, then press "Send as tracked link" in the editor: you get a link to send instead of an attachment, and see who opened it and which slide they stopped on. Or put it in a data room with an NDA gate. Free to start, no card.
What goes on each slide?
Slide structure
-
01 Slide
Project [Codename]
Information memorandum
Strictly private and confidential. Prepared by [Advisor] · [Date]. Provided under the NDA dated [Date].
-
02 Slide
Important notice
Provided under NDA for the sole purpose of evaluating the acquisition. No representation or warranty is given. This is not an offer.
-
03 Slide
Executive summary
What the business does, why it is for sale, headline financials and the transaction sought, on one page.
-
04 Slide
History and ownership
Founded [year], key milestones, current shareholders, reason for the sale.
-
05 Slide
Products and services
What is sold, to whom, pricing model, revenue mix by line.
-
06 Slide
Market and competition
Market size and growth, position, main competitors, barriers to entry.
-
07 Slide
Customers
Top 10 customers as % of revenue (named only if agreed), contract terms, retention.
-
08 Slide
Operations
Premises, suppliers, systems, key processes, capacity.
-
09 Slide
Management and employees
Organisation chart, key people and their plans after the sale, headcount, employment terms.
-
10 Slide
Financial history
Three years of P&L, balance sheet and cash flow. Normalised EBITDA with each adjustment explained.
-
11 Slide
Current trading and forecast
Year to date against budget and prior year. Forecast with stated assumptions.
-
12 Slide
Growth opportunities
Where a buyer can take the business: new markets, products, pricing, cross-sell.
-
13 Slide
Transaction and process
What is for sale (shares or assets), price expectations, timetable, how to submit an indicative offer.
-
14 Slide
Contact
[Advisor] · [Email] · [Phone]. Questions through the advisor or the data room only.
Buyer context for Information Memorandum (IM).
What buyers look for
- Normalised EBITDA with every adjustment explained
- Customer concentration and contract terms
- Which managers stay after completion, and on what terms
- Current trading against budget, not just historic accounts
- A clear process: what is for sale, the timetable, how to bid
When to use this template
- After a buyer has signed the NDA that follows the teaser
- Before indicative offers in a sell-side process
- When you sell without an advisor and need a buyer-ready document
What NOT to include
- Personal data about employees beyond roles and headcount
- Full customer contracts or ledgers; keep those for due diligence
- Forecasts you cannot support with stated assumptions
- Anything you would not want a competitor to read if the sale does not complete
Information Memorandum (IM).
FAQ
What is an information memorandum?
The detailed sale document a seller or their advisor sends to potential buyers after they sign a non-disclosure agreement. It follows the anonymised teaser and gives buyers enough to make an indicative offer: what the business does, its customers, people, financial history and how to bid.
What is the difference between a teaser and an IM?
The teaser is one or two pages, anonymised, and goes to a long list before any NDA. The IM names the company, runs to 20 to 60 pages in full form, and only goes to buyers who have signed the NDA.
What financial information goes in an IM?
Usually three years of profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow, normalised EBITDA with each adjustment explained, year-to-date trading against budget, and a forecast with its assumptions. Ledgers and contracts are kept for the data room in due diligence.
Who writes the information memorandum?
Typically the seller's corporate finance advisor or business broker, with input from the owners and the accountant. Owners of smaller businesses often draft it from a template like this one and have their advisor or solicitor check it.
How should I send an IM to buyers?
One link per buyer rather than an email attachment, so you can switch access off and see which buyers read the financials. In Beamprobe each buyer gets their own tracked link, and on Pro and above you can require an NDA before it opens and watermark every page with the reader's email.
Keep going.
Related reading
How do you share your finished deck securely?
Send your finished deck through a per-recipient tracked link. See which slides each investor read, for how long, and on which day. NDA gate, watermark, expiry - all on the £29 Pro plan. UK/EU data residency by default.