Business Sale Readiness Check

Ten questions a buyer’s solicitor will ask — and a gap list ordered by what will delay the deal or reduce the price. Nothing stored.

1. Are your key customer and supplier relationships covered by written contracts that are still current?

2. Do you know whether any of your contracts contain change-of-control or assignment restrictions?

3. If you lease your premises, have you read the lease recently - the remaining term and the assignment provisions?

4. Can you list every personal guarantee you have given - bank, landlord, lessors, supplier accounts?

5. Are your brand, domains, software licences and other intellectual property owned by the company rather than by an individual?

6. Do all employees have written terms, and are any contractor arrangements clearly documented?

7. Are your company registers, filings and accounts current and reconcilable?

8. Could the business operate for six months without you?

9. If there are other shareholders, is there a shareholders’ agreement, and does everyone agree on selling?

10. Are there any live or threatened disputes, claims or Revenue queries?

0 of 10 answered — your gap list appears when all ten are done.

Orientation only, not legal advice and not tax advice. These are broad versions of questions a buyer’s solicitor will ask in narrower form, and a business may have issues this tool does not reach. Structure and tax are matters for your accountant and Revenue. This tool runs entirely on your device — nothing you select is stored or sent anywhere.

General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law on business sales and acquisitions. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every transaction turns on its own facts — the structure, the documents, the parties, the consents required — and advice on yours requires a consultation.

Nothing here is tax advice, and tax drives structure. The choice between an asset sale and a share sale is very largely a tax question, and it should be settled with your accountant or tax adviser, and by reference to Revenue’s own guidance, before heads of terms are signed rather than afterwards. This firm does not advise on tax, does not state rates, thresholds, reliefs or conditions, and does not indicate any tax outcome.

No valuation advice. This firm does not value businesses, does not suggest multiples and does not advise on price. Valuation is for accountants and corporate finance advisers, and it is a separate exercise from the legal work.

Never both sides of the same deal. The firm acts for buyers and, in separate transactions, for sellers — but never for both parties to the same sale. Conflicts are checked at first contact, before any substantive discussion, which is why the first email should name every individual and entity involved.

No outcome or timeline is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that a transaction will complete, that a consent will be obtained, that a warranty claim will succeed, or that any deal will proceed to a particular timetable. Where another jurisdiction is involved, the law of that jurisdiction applies to what happens there and requires local advice; this firm advises on Irish law only.

Fees. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.