Buying or selling a business in Queensland… What you need to know

In these tough economic times, people may be tempted to ‘cut costs’ and consider not using the services of a lawyer to assist them in buying or selling a business. Our litigation division has plenty of ‘war stories’ of people burnt who have tried to cut costs and not obtained professional advice. For example, do you know that if you sell a business and assign the lease to the buyer, you may remain liable to pay rent to the landlord, even after the business is sold, if the buyer defaults in paying rent? This may be avoided by properly drafting the contract.

A business sale transaction can be quite complex and involves a broad range of issues such as employee entitlements, plant and equipment, GST, stamp duty, franchises, council requirements and obtaining the Landlord’s consent for either a new lease or assignment of an existing lease. 

McKays have prepared a guide to give you some general knowledge and discuss, in plain English, the key legal issues to consider in a business sale transaction. Regardless of whether you are a Seller or a Buyer, this resource will assist you in understanding the sale process and why a properly drafted contract is crucial to protect your interests.

The guide is very easy to use with headings to help you to find information that is relevant to you. It also alerts buyers to important matters to consider before signing a contract, such as whether you should purchase in your own name or set up a different business structure. Buyers and sellers are also encouraged to use the services of other professionals such as accountants, financial planners and insurance brokers.
 
Visit the below webpage to view the guide: http://www.mckayslaw.com/documents/McKaysBuySellBusiness.pdf or if you would like a hard copy please email the marketing department on rprout@mckayslaw.com.

For further information about buying or selling a business in Queensland call Geoff Matheson on (07) 3223 5901 or email gmatheson@mckayslaw.com