Company purchase in my name or company name?

[ElieMeromanche]

About to purchase an existing company. Now the question is do I buy this company under my own name as a sole shareholder, or do I buy it as my company registered in Hong Kong?
Been trying to find the pros and cons online but have not really found anything.

I am not resident in UK or a tax payer in UK at the moment.

 

[WaveJumper]

What does your lawyer & accountant advise, you are using one I assume?

 

[ElieMeromanche]

What does your lawyer & accountant advise, you are using one I assume?

No I am not. I will if I really need. I was hoping to get advice here from people who have the experience. I thought that this was what a forum was for...

 

[The Byre]

Have you got anybody here on the ground in the UK holding your hand and advising you and performing due diligence on this company and its owners?

If not, get someone NOW!

 

[HFE Signs]

This is a major decision that will have various impacts in the future, get professional advice on this from your accountant.

 

[Socio South West]

Have you considered purchase of goodwill and assets only, and leave the company with the vendor to deal with any skeletons that may be in the cupboard?

Its a route I have used - buying and selling - a couple of times and has worked extremely well for a small company.

As others say- its potentially a large decision with considerable potential ramifications: Get decent advice - a few hundred invested now can save you £ks in the long term

 

[HFE Signs]

Have you considered purchase of goodwill and assets only, and leave the company with the vendor to deal with any skeletons that may be in the cupboard?

Its a route I have used - buying and selling - a couple of times and has worked extremely well for a small company.

As others say- its potentially a large decision with considerable potential ramifications: Get decent advice - a few hundred invested now can save you £ks in the long term

That’s a good option, also relieves you of any historical company issues

 

[Mark T Jones]

As others have said, this is a question that needs dedicated, professional advice, not forum opinions.


From a funding POV, if you are likely to need finance, offshore ownership is a bit of a turn-off to many lenders.

 

[AndreasC]

Hi Elie,

There are various factors to consider and it's not a simple decision or the same for everyone (it depends on your personal situation).

 

[Clinton]

About to purchase an existing company.

Don't.

You've no idea what you're doing and you're apparently too tight to pay for the professional advice you need.

 

[fantheflames]

Look, the pros and cons list online are generalised.

It's not specific to the business you want to purchase.

Hire a professional to look into this for you.

It might be a small investment than pays off for you.

Good luck!

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

First off, if this is anything but a few hundred pounds purchase, don't even think about doing it without professional advice - so many things can come back and bite you on the bum if you don't have the right diligence completed before hand.

Second, all you really need to do is buy all of the shares and vote out the directors (a little more than that really). You or another company can buy the shares.