What to Give a Business Partner After the Deal Closes (and What to Avoid)

The deal has signed, and you want to mark it with the partner or co-investor who saw it through with you. A gift is the obvious way to do that, and it is easy to get wrong. It has to be personal without being inappropriate, and nothing about it can look like an inducement.

What a closing gift for a business partner is for

A closing gift marks the relationship, not the transaction: something the partner uses every day, kept under their company’s gift policy, with their initials rather than your logo where lettering is an option, and sent once the deal is done. The transaction already has its reward, written into the terms. A gift made for use stays on their desk or in their pocket; a gift made for display goes on a shelf and then into a cupboard.

How much to spend on a gift for a business partner

Find out whether the partner’s company has a gift policy; many listed companies publish one in their code of conduct. Most policies set a value above which a gift has to be declared or approved, so stay under it. Where there is no policy, keep the value modest enough that declaring it would embarrass nobody. The UK Bribery Act 2010 covers dealings between private businesses, and the Ministry of Justice’s guidance accepts reasonable, proportionate gifts as a normal part of business; what draws attention is value or timing that suggests an attempt to influence a decision.

The best gifts for a business partner after a deal closes

The gifts a partner uses rather than displays:

• A good pen, because they will reach for it at every meeting and signing.
• A leather desk pad or document folder, because it sits on their desk or goes with them into meetings.
• A card holder or wallet with their initials, because they carry it everywhere and it is plainly theirs.
• A bottle, only if you know they drink.
• A book tied to a conversation from the deal.

Where a gift can carry initials, use the partner’s, not your logo, and if you choose leather, ask for full-grain and for blind embossing, which presses the initials in without ink or foil, so they stay discreet on a boardroom table.

For a partner who travels for the business, a full-grain passport wallet with their initials is a closing gift that gets used on every trip, and Von Baer’s are some of the best-made available. Von Baer makes their card holders, wallets, passport wallets and desk pads in full-grain leather certified to the Cuoio Superiore standard, which is A-grade cowhide taken at the bend and drum-dyed, so that the colour runs through the leather rather than sitting on it, and they emboss the recipient’s initials by hand at no charge. The Harrington passport wallet is the one to give: it is leather they will carry through every airport, and your company’s name appears nowhere on it. At $325 it needs checking against their gift policy first, as the section above says. The brand’s guide to gifts for business partners opens with that passport wallet and covers the card holders and wallets as well.

Gifts to avoid giving a business partner

• Anything that looks like an inducement: a gift sent while the deal is still open looks like payment for a decision.
• Cash, or anything that works like cash: most gift policies treat gift cards and vouchers as money.
• Alcohol by assumption: plenty of people do not drink, for reasons of faith, health or preference.
• Merchandise covered in your logo: a branded mug or fleece ends up in a drawer or the office kitchen.
• Gifts to a public official before you check the rules: staff at government bodies, state-owned companies and sovereign wealth funds work under far tighter limits.

When to send a closing gift, and what to write in the note

Send the gift once the deal is done, and where signing and completion are separate steps, wait for completion. Send it to their office rather than their home, so they can declare it if they need to and use it in plain view. Write the note yourself: two handwritten lines about the work beat a printed card. Say what you valued in working with them, and leave out the terms, the price and the next deal.

A final check before you send a business partner a gift

Will they use it rather than display it? Could they declare it without anyone asking why? Is your logo nowhere on it? If the answer to all three is yes, send it once the deal is done, with two lines in your own hand.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good closing gift for a business partner?

A good closing gift gets used every working day and carries the partner’s initials rather than your logo: a good pen, a leather desk pad or document folder, or a card holder. A book tied to a conversation from the deal also works, and a bottle only if you know they drink.

Is it appropriate to give a gift after closing a deal?

Yes, once the deal has closed, provided the gift is modest, sits within the partner’s policy and is not tied to any term of the deal. Sent while the deal is still open, the same gift looks like an inducement. If they are a public official, check what they can accept first.