Business Acquisitions & Disposals
If you are looking to buy or sell a business, we can give assistance from the outset.
If you need to negotiate in strict secrecy for whatever reason we can draft a Confidentiality
Agreement to ensure your competitors or even your own staff do not find out until
the appropriate time.
Whether you are buying or selling you will also need to take tax advice at an early
stage to ensure that the deal is structured to minimise any tax liability. Our lawyers
can deal with this for you and liaise with your own tax advisers to structure the
deal appropriately. We even have specialist tax advisers in house.
With any business sale or purchase, it is vital to maintain good legal advice throughout
the transaction. This can avoid legal problems arising later.
Buying a Business
- Do you know what you are getting (or not getting) for your money and is it worth
the price you are paying? We can investigate the business to make sure you know
the answers to these questions.
- We can find out if there are any hidden surprises or costly liabilities lurking
beneath the surface.
- We can ensure that the seller does not immediately start up in business in competition
with you and take all your new customers with them.
- If you are taking on staff, we can advise you on the complexities of the
Employment Regulations and advise you of the responsibilities and problems that
you could potentially be liable for.
- We can ensure that the property and assets of the business are properly transferred
in the most tax efficient way possible.
- We can advise you on the future structure of the new business.
Selling a Business
- We can structure the sale so that you minimise your tax liabilities.
- If you have staff we can advise you on the many employment
issues that will arise, for instance what you should tell your staff and when. We
can also advise on when you need to consult with them and how you should go about
doing this.
- We can advise you on what information you should disclose to the buyer and what
indemnities and warranties you should give or accept.
- Our in-house financial services department can also give independent
financial advice regarding the investment of any sale proceeds and help you
plan for your future.
Contact Us
If you would like to arrange an appointment to see a member of our Commercial team,
please e-mail company.commercial@chattertons.com
or contact a member of our Commercial team on one of the numbers given below.
Contact Details
Company Commercial Team