Business Transfer Solicitors — Limerick

Selling and buying businesses — structure, documents, consents and completion.

Limerick and the mid-west carry a substantial manufacturing, engineering, logistics, construction services and food production base — sectors where the assets are real, the equipment is usually financed, and the personal guarantees behind that finance are the item sellers most often discover too late.

Financed Equipment, and the Guarantees Behind It

In asset-heavy businesses a great deal of what looks like it belongs to the company does not. Vehicles, plant, machinery and equipment are frequently subject to leasing, hire purchase or finance arrangements, which has two consequences on a sale. Those assets may not be the seller’s to transfer, so a buyer diligencing the asset register will find the finance agreements and the picture changes. And those facilities were commonly supported by a personal guarantee from the owner, given years ago when the facility was put in place and forgotten since. Selling the business does not release a personal guarantee — each is a separate contract with the lender or lessor — so a seller can complete, hand over the keys, and remain personally liable if the buyer later defaults. Every guarantee needs to be identified at the outset and a formal written release sought as part of the deal, with a counter-indemnity from the buyer only as a fallback.

Construction and Supply Contracts Need Sorting First

A significant share of mid-west commercial activity runs through construction, supply and subcontracting arrangements, and those carry their own questions on a sale. Are the material contracts written, current and assignable, or do they restrict assignment and require the counterparty’s consent? Are there change-of-control provisions that a share sale would trigger? Are there retentions held, live claims, or disputes over payment that would surface in due diligence and produce an indemnity or a price reduction? And where a business trades with public bodies or large corporates, consent requirements are more likely rather than less. Identifying which contracts are material and what each says about assignment and change of control is a reading exercise, it costs very little, and it is what keeps a completion timetable realistic instead of slipping repeatedly.

Two Free Tools Before You Call

The Sale Structure Check walks the asset-versus-share question and what follows from each. The Readiness Check produces a gap list ordered by what will delay the deal or reduce the price. Both run on your own device — nothing stored, and neither is tax advice.

Selling, Buying, or Still Deciding?

What is being sold, whether an accountant has advised on structure, what is signed already, and whether there are employees and a lease. Conflicts are checked first, so name every party in your first email.

Call 01 5827148

Related Reading

Business Sales in Limerick - FAQs

Two ways. Financed or leased assets may not be the company’s to transfer, so the asset register and the finance agreements need to be reconciled before a buyer does it for you. And those facilities were often supported by a personal guarantee, which the sale does not release. Both should be identified at the outset rather than during due diligence.

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.