Do I need a solicitor to sell my small business?
The honest answer is not necessarily, but it’s highly recommended. When selling a small business, many business owners understand the need for legal advice but are concerned about legal fees.
For this reason, many small business owners opt not to take legal advice for the small business sale transaction; however, not taking legal advice is risky.
JPP Law Offers the Perfect Solution
At JPP Law, we specialise in business sale and purchase, generally for SME’s and larger companies, but we recognise the need for small business owners to have access to legal support when it comes to selling. JPP Law now offer a small business sale service that won’t break the bank. A special discounted service designed to give you the support you need at a price that makes sense.
This service is particularly beneficial to business owners who are selling to someone they know for example, a friend or a colleague. Both sides will want to ensure a legally complaint sale with all the protection that offers but at a low cost for both parties.
Why Use a Solicitor when Selling a Small Business?
Increases the chance of the deal completing
Many sales fall through due to poorly prepared documents, unclear terms, or last-minute legal issues. A solicitor helps avoid those pitfalls and keeps the deal on track.
Protects your interests
We make sure you’re not exposed to future claims or liabilities.
Covers all the legal angles
From employee obligations to lease assignments, contracts, and compliance, we ensure everything is done properly.
Saves time, stress, and costly mistakes
You don’t have to figure it all out alone.
Want to Keep Legal Fees Low? Work With Us, Proactively.
We know that legal fees can feel like a stretch, especially for small businesses. That’s why we offer a discount for business sellers who take a proactive approach.
What Does ‘Proactive Approach’ Mean
You will prepare the business for sale but with our guidance from the start. We will deal with the more complex legal elements of the sale but we will ensure anything you can do to minimise the time we spend on the transaction, will be done by you (with our guidance).
Together and working with your accountants, we will ensure your paperwork, accounts and contracts are in order. The JPP Law team will act as your guide, overseeing everything to make sure it’s done right, while you stay in control and our fees remain low.
What are the Fees?
A fixed fee of £1,000 Plus VAT for up to five hours of legal work.
Our normal hourly rate is £380 plus VAT. However, if your small business meets our qualifying criteria, we can offer you the first five hours at a discounted rate of £200 plus VAT per hour. In our experience, if the seller is proactive, five hours of legal work is more than sufficient to sell a small business. Depending on the circumstances of your sale, we may be able to offer a fixed or capped fee for work beyond the first five hours.
If the transaction takes more than five hours, and there is no fixed or capped fee in place, then the hourly rate for the additional work will increase to £380 plus VAT. It’s important to note that JPP Law is ALWAYS transparent about fees. If we are likely to go above the discounted five hours, we will let you know the reasons why and provide options.
Which Businesses Qualify
We only offer this service to a limited number of sellers, and it is available by application only, but as a general guide, this is available for businesses with a sale price of less than £750,000 where the sale is a company / share sale (as opposed to an asset sale).
You may want to read: Asset Sale V’s Share Sale
Exclusions
If the business sale involves the sale or transfer of property or legal advice regarding the transfer of a commercial lease, this work is not covered in the fixed fee nor is it advice provided by JPP. We work with a specialist property law firm, and we can obtain a quote for the work on request. Or, you can use another law firm of your choice.
To Apply for this Service please complete the application form.
