Bradford's business leaders are being told that it is not a crime to think about selling up.

Ian Wrightson, a senior manager in the district's Deloitte & Touche business services department, said: "There are many business people who will have invested as much time as Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in striving to meet their goals.

"While the similarity is that both have reached their objectives, the potential difference is that the business person may have realised when maybe it's time to move on."

Contrary to what most people would think he would say, Mr Wrightson says business people should "not score an own goal by feeling guilty about the possibility of selling the business - look to the future".

He added: "It should not be forgotten that a business is only a means to an objective and objectives are sometimes best achieved through a sale rather than continued involvement."

Mr Wrightson says it is healthy to periodically assess whether the time is right to sell a business and says the new tax year provides a good opportunity to start the thinking process.

He said: "Many entrepreneurs start businesses as a means to an end, only to find that years later those same businesses have grown into monsters that run their lives rather than the other way round."

Research reveals that despite hundreds of reasons for putting a business up for sale, the decision is normally made because the owner has been made an offer "too good to refuse", such as health reasons or retirement.