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.
Our business sale support
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Get the early terms right before they become difficult to change.
Prepare the business for buyer scrutiny and due-diligence.
Negotiate the sale agreement & limit your liability.
Manage the final legal steps to transfer ownership and complete the sale.
Every phase is scoped and quoted before it begins, so you are never committed beyond the next step, and if you stop after any phase you owe nothing for work that has not started. Selling a business is one of our fixed-fee services. See how fixed-fee pricing works.
Drawing on experience from leading law firms and international businesses, our M&A solicitors support founders, shareholders and management teams selling UK businesses.
Legal Service Director
Legal Service Director
SRA No. 634623
Patricia is a corporate and commercial solicitor whose practice centres on mergers and acquisitions, early-stage investment rounds (particularly angel and pre-seed), and the commercial agreements that underpin high-growth businesses. Trained at DLA Piper and seasoned through a range of in-house counsel roles, she has advised FTSE100 corporations, public bodies, and high-profile individuals.
As Senior Solicitor and Legal Services Director at Lawyerly, Patricia leads service delivery for a client base weighted toward tech and AI. She guides founders and investors through funding rounds, structures strategic acquisitions, and negotiates the subscription agreements, technology licences, and partnership arrangements that scale-ups depend on. Her fluency in data privacy, IP, and regulatory matters means she can drive the full range of workstreams that tech deals demand, keeping transactions moving and valuations protected.
Qualifications
LLB (Hons); LPC MSc in Law, Business and Management
Commercial Solicitor
Commercial Solicitor
SRA No. 576972
James is a commercial and corporate solicitor whose practice centres on commercial contracts, technology and intellectual property, and disputes, sharpened by a keen commercial sense for how the law plays out in business reality. He has practised at Pinsent Masons, EY Law, and across a range of in-house roles, leading on SaaS and software licensing negotiations, M&A due diligence, and commercial litigation alongside international stakeholders on high-value, complex matters.
As Commercial Solicitor at Lawyerly, James brings that range to SMEs that need serious commercial advice without the complexity of a traditional firm relationship. He negotiates and manages contracts, advises on technology and IP, and helps clients pre-empt the disputes that derail growth. His particular fluency in contract management and technology law means he can tighten commercial frameworks and reduce legal risk as businesses scale.
Qualifications
LLB (Hons); LPC (Commendation)
Commercial Solicitor
Commercial Solicitor
SRA No. 839517
Ashrelle is a commercial solicitor who built her practice at Browne Jacobson LLP, a leading UK national law firm, advising private and public sector clients on contracts, IP, and procurement. Her experience extends into real estate, clinical negligence, employment, and government infrastructure, giving her a breadth few solicitors at her level can offer.
As Commercial Solicitor at Lawyerly, Ashrelle focuses on practical commercial advice for growing businesses, building the long-term client relationships that turn legal counsel into trusted partnership. She is as comfortable reviewing a software agreement as steering a complex procurement, and her employment expertise lets her advise on the people-side issues that sit alongside the commercial ones, keeping clients covered across the full picture of their business as it scales.
Qualifications
LLB (Hons); LPC LLM
Co-Founder & Director
Co-Founder & Director
Jackie has spent 20 years rethinking how legal services reach the people and businesses that need them. Before co-founding Lawyerly, she built and led one of Africa's largest alternative legal organisations, growing it to over 300 people and earning recognition across legal service, technology, innovation, and dispute resolution. She holds a PhD, awarded with the Top Achiever distinction, and has been named one of the top five women in legal tech.
As Co-Founder of Lawyerly, Jackie sets the strategic direction. Her work is guided by a single conviction: the law should work for people, not the other way around. Two decades of designing legal models that put commercial reality and client need ahead of legal tradition keep Lawyerly's service practical, human, and valuable for the businesses it works with.
Qualifications
LLB; MPhil (Cum Laude); PhD (Top Achiever Award); Key Regulatory Compliance Certifications
Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Willem began his career with a foundation in law before moving into business and communication. He led two advertising agencies through significant digital change and spent years as a digital publisher before moving into the international development sector, working on programmes across South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
At Lawyerly, he brings a marketer's instinct for clarity and a strategist's eye for how organisations grow. His training spans AI business strategy at MIT alongside formal studies in law and marketing, which means he thinks carefully about how legal services need to evolve to meet the real needs of modern businesses.
Qualifications
BA Law; AI Business Strategy (MIT); Nomadic Marketing (UCT)
Director
Director
Jan began his career in law before broadening into corporate strategy and technology. He holds a Master's in Corporate Law and an MBA, and later completed a Master's in Applied Data Science, driven by a conviction that the legal profession could do far more with the data it generates. That combination of legal, commercial, and analytical training has shaped a career spent rethinking how legal services are designed and delivered, with a particular focus on projects that use data and digital tools to improve legal processes.
As Director at Lawyerly, Jan brings data analytics, financial management, and strategy to the firm. His blend of legal grounding, commercial instinct, and technical fluency means Lawyerly's growth is guided by someone who understands the practice as deeply as the business behind it.
Qualifications
LLB; LLM; MBA; MSc
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.
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.
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.
Daily support, exactly what a startup needs.
The team at Lawyerly is helping us massively with all things legal. Daily support that makes all the difference.
Clear, considered, never left waiting.
Consistently available with clear, well-considered advice. Communication is of a high standard, and we're never left waiting for information or assistance.
Nothing short of amazing.
The team at Lawyerly have been nothing short of amazing. We've relied on them immensely and truly appreciate their continued support.
It changed how our business operates.
Before Lawyerly, we had no legal capability to tackle issues or protect our business. Now we have seamless, tailored advice and the confidence to grow.
Like having our own in-house lawyer.
Professional from enquiry through to onboarding. The team keeps us updated at every step, with multiple matters running simultaneously and quick turnarounds. Having my own legal advisor has been a real help.
Legal advice without the lawyer-speak.
Professional, knowledgeable, and refreshingly no-nonsense. Clear communication without the lawyer-speak. We've used them across debt recovery, IP and contracts. All to the same high standard.
Real support. Ideal for founders like me.
As an early-stage startup founder, legal fees have always been a challenge. I've turned to AI, but it doesn't give personalised support. Lawyerly delivers the real thing on a subscription.
An easy decision, right from the start.
We spoke to several companies, but were particularly impressed with the initial call and onboarding. Made our decision an easy one.
Expert guidance, impressively quick.
Expert guidance with impressive efficiency, and quick turnarounds whenever urgent matters arose. Easy to engage, knowledgeable, and they take the time to explain every detail.
Quality at speed, time after time.
The team consistently demonstrate outstanding professionalism, attention to detail, and genuine care. Their ability to move quickly without ever compromising on quality is highly appreciated.
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
Co-Founder
Willem began his career with a foundation in law before moving into business and communication. He led two advertising agencies through significant digital change and spent years as a digital publisher before moving into the international development sector, working on programmes across South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
At Lawyerly, he brings a marketer's instinct for clarity and a strategist's eye for how organisations grow. His training spans AI business strategy at MIT alongside formal studies in law and marketing, which means he thinks carefully about how legal services need to evolve to meet the real needs of modern businesses.
Qualifications
BA Law; AI Business Strategy (MIT); Nomadic Marketing (UCT)