"Thank you very much indeed for your excellent efforts on the sale of our business towards the end of last year. I am absolutely over the moon with the final sale price, which is very substantially higher than my initial expectations. Please feel free to put any prospective client directly in touch. I would be very happy to explain why I believe your assistance will always pay for itself. I cannot envisage a situation where your professional involvement will not be more than amply justified.

I would advise anyone considering their exit options to get in touch with you very early on. Your valuable input starts very early in preparing a business for sale. And this business development advice continues throughout the process. Then there is the process of confidentially finding the right potential suitors. The St James Partnership has now worked with me on selling two very different businesses over the last five years. On each occasion the best deal and the final sale has been to a business I had not even heard of at the start. On each occasion the sale was to a "good home" for the business, even if that meant taking longer and not taking the first acceptable offer. And on each occasion confidentiality was maintained absolutely throughout the process - with not so much as a whisper within the companies-for-sale nor in their marketplaces.

As to the detail of making a deal happen, you are a master. You have finely turned antennae that pick up on the slightest nuance from a potential suitor. You are happy to lead negotiations at some stages but to stay in the wings at others. You are happy to spend as much time as it takes to think through the right line to take in a verbal discussion or to improve a written document. You are happy to travel wherever required and often at very short notice (this project involved travel to the USA, Scotland and Ireland as well as frequent visits to my base in Cambridgeshire).

So many thanks for all your hard work. Just at the moment I have run out of businesses to sell. But I am investing in others so hopefully another will be ready in a few years."

"It is no exaggeration to say that we simply could not have made the sales without you, certainly not at anything like the value that you obtained for the companies. It was not only the negotiating skills that you so ably demonstrated, but at least as important the financial information back up and advice you continually made available. It is a pity we have not a third company to sell, but we shall certainly recommend you to any other publishing or conference company."

"It was evident from the beginning that you deployed industry knowledge, diplomacy and skill in abundance. During the months of the sales process, it became clear that the appointment of The St James Partnership as our agents and advisers in this matter was well justified. I admired the way in which you operated, particularly in the closing stages when there is so much that can possibly go wrong."

"I truly believe that your professionalism and attention to detail, your determination to keep the momentum moving when others were showing signs of flagging, were major factors in achieving a highly successful outcome. Thank you also for your commitment to the after sales process."

"We would like to thank you for the advice and new perspective you have given us on our business. It is the first time we have been able to see our operation in perspective and to get a real idea of the company's value. You helped us understand our strengths and weaknesses in precise terms and have given us excellent recommendations that we have already started to put into practice. Our only regret is that we did not come to you earlier."

"You brought to the table a range of interesting individuals and organisations, many of whom, including the eventual buyer, I had never heard of before. You took the brunt of numerous hard bargaining sessions and immersed yourself thoroughly in our financial detail. You were around every day, evening and weekend as required, and I'm extremely grateful for your persistence. To any future client who says he cannot possibly see how you could ever justify a fee of the order I've happily paid, I'll tell them."

"An immediate understanding of the dynamics of the business; the crafting of how to present the company and its financial performance; the careful selection and approach to prospective buyers; the multi- dimensional negotiations and, finally, a deal struck at a price we could never have dreamed of. You delivered all of the above but what impressed me most and was so important given the stress of a sale was the calmness with which you dealt with the unexpected and the difficult."

"From the very start of discussions about the possible sale of our company we were highly impressed by your thorough knowledge of the publishing industry, and as matters progressed, we were delighted to learn that you were at all times sympathetic to our particular requirements and idiosyncrasies."

"A stunning deal for your client. I take my hat off to you."