A loupe is the small lens a jeweller holds to the eye to inspect a stone before buying it. Loupe, the platform, exists for the same reason: to let you look closely at a business before you commit to it. Our line is simple. See the business behind the listing.
Why Loupe exists
A business-for-sale listing is written to win enquiries. It shows what the seller wants buyers to see. The figures are usually the seller's own and unchecked, the wording is selective, and the same business can appear on several sites with different numbers.
Buyers often discover the problem that should have ruled a business out only after they have signed an NDA, spent weeks on calls and paid advisers. The warning signs are often there much earlier, in public records and in the listing itself, for anyone who takes the time to look.
Loupe brings listings from many sources into one place and checks what the listing leaves out, before you sign an NDA or pay an adviser.
What Loupe does
The feed. Loupe tracks businesses for sale in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Canada and South Africa. Listings from marketplaces and broker sites are sorted into standard fields, a business listed on several sites appears once, and each listing gets a fit score against the criteria you set. You can browse the feed and create a free account to see all of it.
Free tools and guides. The valuation tool gives an indicative range for a business from a few key numbers and shows every step of the working. The red flag screen asks about 15 quick questions about a listing and points you to what needs checking. The guides cover how to read a listing, how valuation works, what to ask the seller and how to run due diligence, alongside a red flag library, a glossary, checklists and country primers.
Dossiers. When a business looks worth pursuing, you can request a dossier: an analyst-verified report on that one business that goes well beyond the listing. Every finding carries its source, the date it was checked and a confidence label. Every dossier is priced on request, as the pricing page explains. What's in a dossier describes the sections, and the sample dossier shows one on a fictional business.
Who it is for
Loupe is built for people who buy businesses and want to spend their time on the right ones:
- search funders looking for a first acquisition
- independent sponsors assessing a deal before raising capital for it
- family offices and private equity firms screening smaller opportunities
- strategic acquirers looking for businesses that fit what they already own
- first-time acquirers learning how to judge a business for sale
How we work
We show our working. The valuation tool sets out its maths, and the methodology page lists the method, benchmark sources and their dates, and the tool's limits.
We label what we know. In a dossier, a finding is marked Verified only when it has been confirmed against an independent source. Figures taken from the listing stay marked As listed, and our own calculations are marked Estimated.
We respect our sources. Listings are collected only in ways each source allows. We write our own short descriptions and do not copy sellers' descriptions or images.
We do not broker deals. Loupe is not a business broker. We do not act for buyers or sellers in a transaction, negotiate for anyone or take success fees.
We are clear about limits. Our guides, valuations and dossiers are general information to help you decide where to focus. They are not formal valuations, and they are not investment, legal, tax or financial advice. Before you commit to a purchase, take advice from qualified professionals.
Get in touch
If you have a question about Loupe, a listing or a dossier, use the contact form and it will reach us directly.