How do I prepare a drone services business for sale?

A buyer of a drone operator wants to see a business that runs without you. The aircraft are the easy part. What convinces a careful buyer is a tidy set of records and a team that can do the work. Start well ahead of a listing, because several of these steps take months to show results.

Aircraft, payloads and logs

Make a register of every aircraft, camera, sensor and battery, with its purchase date, flight hours, repairs and whether it is owned or financed. Keep maintenance and flight logs complete and in one place. A buyer who sees clean records worries less about what is hidden. If something has been out of service, say so and explain why.

Contracts and recurring work

Gather your client contracts and show the work by sector, such as construction, utilities, agriculture or real estate. Mark which clients return and which came once. Check whether any agreement needs the client’s consent when ownership changes, and tell your lawyer early so there are no surprises mid-process.

Accounts, data and the lead pilot

Move software, cloud and domain accounts into the company’s name. Decide what happens to old client data and write the policy down. Then look at who flies and who meets clients. If that is mostly you, train a second pilot and introduce them to key clients, so the relationships can outlast your departure.

• Asset register with hours, repairs and ownership
• Maintenance and flight logs, up to date
• Client contracts sorted by sector
• Software accounts held by the company