Succession Planning with an Expert

The team at NewBridge Group knows that one of the most significant decisions in your career will be to create your succession plan – that’s why our mission is to help you understand this process. 

“The first step is to know the needs of a funeral home owner,” says Todd Reich, Director of Business Development. “It’s important that we recognize what they are looking for in a potential buyer, why they want to sell, and their timeline for selling. This allows us to align their goals and values with a potential buyer that best fits their succession plan.”

Reich has been with NewBridge since 2018, managing a team of client relation professionals who advise funeral home owners in the successful sale of their businesses. In addition, he has personally worked with numerous family-owned funeral homes, advising them on their market value, while finding a buyer that matches their culture and goals. 

“Because we perform all of the underwritings for most of our buyers,” explains Reich, “our valuations are extremely accurate. We not only inform a funeral home owner what a purchase price range would look like, but also what the offer structure would look like (up-front cash versus payments over time). If the price is not in the ballpark, we do not share financials with buyers and remain friends with the prospective sellers. Often, we will work with them several years later.”

Reich received a BSBA degree from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and an MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University. Before joining NewBridge and working exclusively in the funeral home industry, Reich worked in credit risk management at Bank of America and advised family owned business sales at The Lenox Group, LLC. 

“The funeral service profession has been very refreshing compared to the variety of other industries I’ve worked in,” explains Reich, whose background in investment banking focused primarily on mergers and acquisitions and private capital raising. “Over the past twenty years, I’ve enjoyed helping family-owned businesses navigate one of the most important decisions of their careers – a sale – but it’s even more enjoyable to work with genuine, down-to-earth people that are service-oriented.”

Though interest rates have risen and M&A trends have slowed, Reich remains positive that any funeral home owner wishing to sell this year can still feel confident in their decision. “It is possible that a funeral home selling one or two years ago with the same revenues and profit margins would now sell for slightly less,” admits Reich. “However, it’s easier to stand out in a void than a crowd. We see fewer sellers in today’s environment, so buyers are willing to pay up if you have a quality funeral home. Otherwise, owners expecting higher sales will have to wait, understanding that these values may continue like this for quite some time.” 

Whether you are considering a sale this year or not, Reich encourages funeral home owners to nonetheless take advantage of NewBridge’s confidential and complimentary business valuation. “Every business owner should have a good sense of what their business is worth, and it’s important to update his or her business value every few years.” Reich continues, “NewBridge has worked exclusively in the funeral service industry for over 20 years, and we take pride in our reputation of partnering funeral home owners with private, ‘anti-corporate’ buyers.”

Interested in selling?

Call Todd Reich directly for a confidential, no-obligation discussion about your sale options at 404-542-9956 or contact him via email at todd@newbridgegroup.com.