Business

Mergers and Acquisitions

BUSINESS OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED

together

Our team can provide you with clear and comprehensive advice in relation to mergers and acquisitions.

Our experienced and multi-disciplinary team work together with our clients to provide commercial, quality advice, supporting all sized companies with strategic transactions as well as day-to-day business needs.

We work closely with our clients to understand your business, your requirements and to get to know your team and how you operate.

Our experience includes:

  • Advising Heart of the Lakes and Fisherbeck Management Limited as they joined forces with Lakelovers to create the Lake District's leading independent quality holiday cottage letting agency;
  • Representing the shareholders of a client in a multi-million pound sale to an American investor;
  • Representing Kepak in their acquisition of 2 Sisters Red Meat Limited;
  • Advising C.G.Turnbull Holdings Limited in its partnership with several companies in Lytham/ Blackpool in relation to its investment into a string of restaurants and bars in the area;
  • Acting on several transactions throughout the year for Seed Property Consultants Limited and its various investors, ranging from share acquisitions and sales, asset acquisitions and sales, property and development finance and investment deals (both debt and equity), loan conversions, share transfers, refinances and granting and taking of security.

Business Sales

Are you a business or partnership looking to sell? Are you a partner or shareholder looking at terminating your partnership or shareholders agreement? Our corporate solicitors will work with you to understand your issues and requirements, tailoring our service to your individual needs.

We provide support on:

  • Selling businesses
  • Selling partnerships
  • Asset sales
  • Demergers
  • Terminating partnership or shareholder agreements

We work with all sized businesses across a range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering, construction and hospitality.

Contact Us

Get in touch to see how our experts could help you.

Call0800 689 0831

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Contacting Us

Monday to Friday:
09:00 to 17:00

Saturday and Sunday:
Closed

FAQs

What is the process involved in purchasing the business?
 
 

After identifying a business which you would like to purchase and confirming that the owner is willing to sell, the first step would be to seek to legal and accountancy advice. Forbes Solicitors can guide you through the legal process of buying a business.

Once initial negotiations have concluded the parties may wish to sign up to Heads of Agreement to set out the main provisions of the deal. The Heads of Agreement do not commit you to going through with the transaction so long as it is made clear that they are non-legally binding and that the agreed terms are subject to the conclusion of a formal contract. Other terms could be made binding, such as those relating to confidentiality, or an exclusivity period to set out the consequences of a rival bidder popping up when you have spent a great deal of time and money on negotiations.

The next stage will be to issue due diligence enquiries so that you can find out as much about the financial viability of the business before buying it. Further negotiation may become necessary as a result of the responses to the due diligence enquiries.

Alongside the due diligence request the advisors for both parties will review and negotiate the contractual documentation based upon instructions from the clients. It is not unusual that several drafts can be made before a document is settled upon.

The key document will be the sale agreement. This sets out the agreed terms of the purchase. Also included will be warranties regarding the state of the business to be purchased.

Completion is the time when the agreement for the purchase is entered into and the ownership of the business is transferred to the purchaser.

Our team are specialised in business transactions and can guide you through the process of buying a business.

How can I be sure that the business I buy is successful?
 
 

Overall you can't. That is why before entering into an agreement to buy a business it is essential to be fully aware of the financial viability of that business. We will therefore issue pre-contract due diligence enquiries to the seller of the business regarding the circumstances of the business. Your financial advisors will more than likely undertake financial due diligence. As a result of these responses, further negotiation as to the terms of the deal may be required.

It is important that the agreement for the purchase reflects all of the things the seller has told you about the business. In the agreement for the sale of the shares or assets there will be a collection of warranties that the seller will give to the buyer. These warranties are statements about the affairs of the business and are likely to cover taxation, accounting, finance, employees and liabilities amongst others. Should these warranties be false the buyer will have the right to sue the seller for any loss suffered as a result. The warranties will usually be subject to any content disclosed by the seller to the purchaser and various seller protection clauses included in the agreement.

There is only so much protection the transaction documents can offer. Though they can provide information about the financial viability of the business and can also offer the possibility of taking some action should the business fail, they cannot be used to guarantee the new business will be a success. For this reason, the investigation of the business and the negotiating process becomes of paramount importance.

A member of our team can provide assistance throughout the investigation of a business process.

Need more help?

Get in touch to see how our experts could help you.

Call0800 689 0831

CallRequest a call back

EmailSend us an email

Our dedicated Corporate team

David Filmer

David Filmer

Partner & Head of Corporate

Corporate

PinLancashire

Call0333 207 1132

Jenny Burke

Jenny Burke

Partner

Corporate

PinLancashire

Call0333 207 1136

Nick Hodgson

Nick Hodgson

Partner

Corporate

PinLancashire

Call0333 207 1139

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Contact Us

If you have a general enquiry then please fill in your details and someone will contact you.

Call0800 689 0831

CallRequest a call back

EmailSend us an email

Contacting Us

Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 17:00
Saturday and Sunday: Closed