BUSINESS SALE SOLICITORS

Sell the business. Protect the value.

Sell a UK business with transparent fixed-fee legal support that prepares you for due diligence, strengthens the terms and limits your liability.

No hourly billing icon No hourly billing SRA-regulated solicitors icon SRA-regulated solicitors Fast, responsive support icon Fast, responsive support

Our business sale support

Give buyers fewer reasons to renegotiate

A buyer will test the business before committing to the price and terms. Gaps in contracts, ownership, records or liabilities can give them reasons to renegotiate or ask for stronger protection.

Our business sale solicitors prepare the legal side for scrutiny, manage due diligence and disclosure, and negotiate the sale agreement to protect the terms and limit your liability after the business changes hands.

Prepare the business for scrutiny

We get the corporate records, contracts, ownership and key documents in order before a buyer looks at them, so avoidable gaps do not hold up the sale or give the buyer a reason to renegotiate.

Manage due diligence and disclosure

We prepare the data room, handle the buyer's enquiries and make the right disclosures, so issues are dealt with on your terms rather than becoming a reason to lower the price or ask for stronger protection.

Negotiate terms that limit your liability

We negotiate the sale agreement around what due diligence has shown: the payment terms, warranties, indemnities and caps on claims, so your exposure after completion stays within clear, sensible limits.

choosing the sale structure

Choose the structure that fits your exit

A share sale and an asset sale give you different levels of control over what is sold, what you retain and how you exit. Our solicitors explain the trade-offs and agree the best approach before the heads of terms are signed.

  • Share sale

    You sell your shares in the company. Its contracts, employees, property and assets generally stay in place, together with its history and liabilities. This can offer a cleaner exit, but buyers will usually expect broader due diligence, warranties and disclosure.

  • Asset sale

    You sell selected parts of the business, such as its equipment, stock, contracts, goodwill or intellectual property. This gives more control over what is included, but contracts, leases, licences, employees and individual assets may need to be transferred separately.

How we approach the sale

Three phases, each priced before it begins

After a complimentary first conversation, your sale moves through three phases. Each is a fixed fee that you approve before it begins, and you may stop after any phase. 

  1. Start

    Deal clarity

    Get the early terms right before they become difficult to change.

    From £950
    • An initial call with a solicitor
    • Confidentiality agreement
    • Heads of terms
    • Advice on deal structure
    • Price, payment and exclusivity terms
    • Timetable, conditions and next steps
    • Coordination with your accountant, tax adviser or corporate finance adviser
    No obligation
  2. Transact

    Deal execution

    Answer the buyer's enquiries, negotiate the sale agreement and limit your liability.

    From £1,000
    • Share or asset sale agreement
    • Price, payment structure and completion terms
    • Responding to the buyer's due diligence enquiries
    • Disclosure letter
    • Warranties, indemnities & liability caps
    • Structuring earn-outs, deferred payments & retentions
    • Restrictive covenants & handover arrangements
    • Negotiation with the buyer's solicitors
    • Coordination with your accountant and advisers
    Stop or continue
  3. Finalise

    Closing

    Manage the final legal steps to transfer ownership and complete the sale.

    From £750
    • Final review of the documents & completion requirements
    • Preparing board, shareholder and transfer documents
    • Signing support & coordination between the parties
    • Coordination of funds, documents & releases
    • Completion call
    Deal completed
Sale-readiness

Sale-readiness, if you want it

Sale-readiness prepares the business and the data room before the buyer's enquiries arrive, so gaps are found and fixed on your timetable. It is optional on every sale. Answering the buyer's enquiries and the disclosure letter are part of Deal execution either way.

  • Assets

    Asset sale

    From £1,000

    Contracts, IP, employees and property reviewed and put in order, red flags fixed and the data room prepared.

  • Shares

    Share sale

    From £1,250

    The same preparation, plus the company's records, share register and Companies House filings.

A straightforward asset sale under £100k costs £2,700, or £3,700 with Sale-readiness. Fees exclude VAT and disbursements. Subscribers save 10% (Launch), 15% (Accelerate), 20% (Scale) or 25% (Enterprise) on every phase and add-on. See our legal subscription plans.

Our business sale solicitors

A senior solicitor on your sale from first consultation to completion

Drawing on experience from leading law firms and international businesses, our M&A solicitors support founders, shareholders and management teams selling UK businesses.

Patricia Tinn

Legal Service Director

James Conning

Senior Commercial Solicitor

Isabelle Munyabarenzi

Senior Commercial Solicitor

Dr Jackie Nagtegaal

Co-Founder and Director

Willem van der Merwe

Co-Founder

Monique Mangxaba

Commercial Lawyer

Alexa Rubin

Commercial Lawyer

Jan Nagtegaal

Co-Founder

Knowledge hub

Frequently asked questions

Our business sale solicitors support you from getting the business ready for sale through to completion. We start by helping you get the corporate records, contracts and key documents in order, so avoidable gaps do not hold things up or give the buyer reasons to renegotiate later. Once a buyer is in place, we help agree the deal structure and heads of terms, manage due diligence and disclosure, and negotiate the sale agreement. That includes the warranties and indemnities you are being asked to give, as well as the limits on any claims after the sale. We then handle the legal process through to completion. The same solicitor stays with you throughout, so you have one point of contact who understands the business, the deal and what matters to you.

Buyer due diligence often raises questions or brings issues to the surface. When that happens, we help you understand how significant the issue really is, what information needs to be provided and whether anything can be resolved before it affects the deal. We also help you respond clearly, make the right disclosures and push back where the buyer’s concerns or requests go too far. Where an issue does need to be dealt with, we work to find a practical solution.

No, it is optional on every sale. Sale-readiness prepares the business and the data room before the buyer starts asking questions, so gaps in contracts, records or ownership are found and fixed on your timetable. It costs from £1,000 on an asset sale and from £1,250 on a share sale. Whether or not you take it, responding to the buyer's due diligence enquiries and preparing the disclosure letter are part of Deal execution.

The value of the deal places it in a band, and the band sets the fixed fee for each phase and add-on. A straightforward asset sale under £100k costs £2,700 across the three phases, or £3,700 with Sale-readiness. A share sale, more employees, leases or contracts, more than two sellers, an earn-out, lender funding or a regulated business add to the fee, and deals of £2.5m or more are quoted individually. If the facts change after we quote, we re-quote before doing the further work.

The headline price is only part of the deal. The legal terms decide when and how you are paid, what you remain responsible for after completion and how easily the buyer can bring a claim later. We help you choose between a share sale and an asset sale based on what you want to sell, retain and step away from. We then negotiate the payment terms, warranties, indemnities and limits on claims, as well as any retention, deferred payment or earn-out. The aim is to protect the value of the sale and keep your exposure after completion within clear, sensible limits.

Most business sales take around three to six months from signed heads of terms to completion. The timing depends on how prepared the business is, how smoothly the buyer’s due diligence progresses and how quickly both sides and any third parties respond. Getting the business and its records ready early can make a real difference. Once we understand the shape of the sale, we will give you a realistic view of the likely timeline and keep you updated as the deal moves forward.

You can book a no-cost, no-obligation consultation online at any stage, whether you are only considering a sale, already speaking to a buyer or have terms on the table. We will use the call to understand the business, where the sale stands and what you want from the deal, then explain how we would approach it and whether Lawyerly is the right fit. If you decide to move forward, we will send you a fixed-fee proposal setting out the scope, cost and next steps for the first phase. Once you approve and pay, we will introduce the solicitor handling the sale and get started.

Client stories

What our clients say

Real outcomes from the businesses we act for, in their words.

A fresh approach. Exceptional value.

A fresh approach to legal services. They've guided us through multiple planned and reactive cases for our business. Exceptional turnaround times and great value for money.

Kerry Power Client Relations, Pantheon Property Services
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Thinking about selling your business?

Tell us about the business you are planning to sell and where you are in the process. Our business sale solicitors will explain the legal support you need, what is included and the fixed fee before work starts.

Willem van der Merwe

Co-Founder

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