How uncomplicated can a business sale/lease assignment be

[mackenziescafe]

I have a small cafe business with just 15 months remaining on the lease. I have found a buyer for the business but the value only reflects the value of the equipment and the remaining lease and only a token amount for the goodwill. I am happy with this due to the short lease and the fact that the business is only running at breakk even currently.

The price for the business is only that of a second hand car. I accept that there may well be a requirement to employ a solicitor for the lease assignment but the buyer has asked that we use a solicitor to handle the business transfer also and to hold the deposit money.

My solicitor is making noises about several weeks of correspondence with the buyer and the landlord and does not seem to be able to offer any fast track suggestions that will keep the legal costs in proportion to the value of the transaction.

The offer I have received is £7000 and a 10% deposit. The value of the equipment in my opinion is around £5,500.

Can anyone advise if my expectations of keeping costs below 10% of the transaction value are realistic?

I would prefer to have a straight forward lease assignment and an invoice/receipt for the payment against an inventory of the equipment and any SAV.

 

[deniser]

Why don't you just assign the lease and include the fixtures and fittings as chattels included in the sale and not treat it as a business sale at all? You could have a small premium for the assignment to compensate you for the goodwill element.

What actual parts of the business are you selling apart from the contents and the goodwill which isn't worth a lot if the business isn't making a profit? The right to use the name? Any website? Anything of any substantial value at all? Are there any existing staff to transfer over?