Buying and selling a company

This section provides helpful guides and tips on how to sell or buy a business in the UK and how to prepare your business for sale, covering contracts and valuations. View Be The Boss video case studies.

Selling a business by auction

Mark Copping, partner in Hamlins LLP's corporate department, assesses the pros and cons of auctioning a business.

Self-financing the purchase of a small business

I am looking to self-finance the purchase of a small business. Should I classify this as long-term loan or shareholder's capital?

Buying and selling a company

Guide to buying a business

Buying a business is not something to rush into. Use these guidelines to help steer you in the right direction.

Buying and selling a company

How to sell your business

Executing a slick full business exit takes preparation, thick skin and bags of raw cunning. SmallBusiness.co.uk finds out how to avoid the pitfalls and get the best price.

Buying and selling a company

The seven deadly sins of exits

Greed, pride, and an array of other human weaknesses can get in the way of a good exit. SmallBusiness.co.uk speaks to entrepreneurs about their triumphs and regrets in selling their businesses.

Buying and selling a company

Acquisitions: The perfect union

Chris Ingram has considerable experience of building and managing rapid-growth firms and is widely regarded as the inventor of the modern media agency. According to Ingram, buying a business is the easy bit - it's what you do after that counts.

Buying and selling a company

Get your business ready to sell

As an entrepreneur, you start your company because of your passion for what you are doing. Yet, no matter how much you love your business, you will eventually need to sell it. This guide from SmallBusiness.co.uk offers three great ways to ensure you get the most money possible for it.

Buying and selling a company

Selling a small company

There's lots of advice out there about setting up a small business. Does anyone know of a good site/advice source on selling a company?

Buying and selling a company

Get your business ready to sell

Buying and selling a company

Selling a small company

There's lots of advice out there about setting up a small business. Does anyone know of a good site/advice source on selling a company?

Buying and selling a company

Need to sell my business

My business has been for sale with incompetent agents. I must sell as soon as I can due to severe health needs. The business is solvent and profitable but needs total commitment. I am a sole trader with no family and cannot afford to walk away. Are there other options open to me?

Buying and selling a company

Buying a going concern: employees contracts

I'm buying a shop which employs two staff, one of whom I will no longer need as I'll be working there myself. Is it reasonable to ask the vendor to tell the employee, arrange a leaving date etc, or must everyone stay in their jobs until after the handover?

Buying and selling a company

What to ask when buying a business

I haven’t run a business for a number of years and am thinking of buying into a café that is already well established. What questions should I be asking and who should I ask?

Buying and selling a company