--- title: "Selling a business with desire and fear" description: "The way Caudwell sold Singlepoint to Vodafone for £405 million." canonical: https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/selling-a-business-with-desire-and-fear/ updated: 2026-11-03 --- # Selling a business with desire and fear > The way Caudwell sold Singlepoint to Vodafone for £405 million. John Caudwell's framework, from Love, Pain & Money, pp. 211 to 218. Framework 6 of 7 from [Love, Pain & Money](https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/index.md) by John Caudwell. Category: Exits. ## The steps 1. **Plan and shape.** Plan ahead and get every aspect of the business into the most seductive shape for suitors. 2. **Target the buyers.** Find out everything about each potential purchaser and how it does business. 3. **Prepare Plans A, B and C.** Cover every eventuality and pick the right time to let the market know. 4. **Build desire.** Let it be known that rival networks are sniffing round, so the buyer wants what you have. 5. **Warn the chipper.** Tell the buyer in advance that you will not accept a price chipped after the offer. 6. **Add fear.** When the chip arrives, walk out and open talks with stalking horses such as Orange and 121. 7. **Control management.** Keep your team loyal, even letting them think you may be irrational. 8. **Leave a little hope.** Reject the buyer's return each time but leave a foot in the door. 9. **Wait for a solid offer.** Refuse to talk and hold out until the full price is guaranteed. ## Where it comes from From chapter: Chapter 25_MADNESS – A BUSINESS LESSON (PART I), pp. 211–218 After Brian's 2000 exit and divorce, Caudwell needs cash and decides to sell Singlepoint, the most cash hungry of his companies, because mobile phone penetration was rising from 47 percent of households in 2000 to 76 percent in 2003 and the service provider model faced squeezed margins, new legislation and Skype. He explains his method for selling: plan ahead, make the business seductive, build desire and fear in buyers and keep management loyal. Vodafone, led by Gavin Darby, is the natural buyer known for chipping the price, so Caudwell stages a rage, walks out and opens talks with Orange and 121 as stalking horses. He shuts Vodafone out for months while leaving a little hope, and Vodafone eventually returns with the original deal, £405 million in summer 2003. ## The animation 24 seconds, 4:5, no sound. - MP4: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/selling-a-business-with-desire-and-fear.mp4 - MP4, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/selling-a-business-with-desire-and-fear-dark.mp4 - Still: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/selling-a-business-with-desire-and-fear.png - Still, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/love-pain-and-money/selling-a-business-with-desire-and-fear-dark.png