Purchasing an established Ltd Company

[pbdesigns]

I want to purchase an established Limited company (trading for at least 12 months, and has filed at least one set of accounts).

I'm not after the "business" - just the history of the Ltd company as one that has traded.

Does anyone know if any brokers or websites sell such companies?

There are some websites that offer to sell pre-registered companies, but they just have Dormant Accounts submitted.

Ideally, it's someone who has started a business and now wants to wind it down, where it doesn't carry any debt or have any real profit in it so that they can walk away with the business effectively at zero.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

What is your reason for this, a one year history holds no bonus in itself to someone investigating the company and may well open a minefield of guarantees to banks etc or debts that you may only become aware of months after the purchase. far easier to just buy a off the shelf company

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'd reflect Chris on this. The costs of doing it right far exceed the benefits. And the potential costs of not doing it right dwaft both.

 

[Clinton]

I want to purchase an established Limited company (trading for at least 12 months, and has filed at least one set of accounts).

You and millions of others.

There are over a dozen courses in the UK, all started in the last few years, claiming to teach people how they can buy successful businesses with no money down. These courses generate tens of thousands of new buyers coming into the market every year.

You are competing against all of them.

There are detailed seminars and experiments and A/B testing and what not, used by these buyers to find targets. It's very, very competitive. They've tried brokers, direct emails to shareholders, letters in the post, all kinds of approaches, even many dodgy ones that you'll never have dreamed of.

The average small business owner is sick and tired of people approaching him claiming to want to buy his business (and from business brokers claiming they have a lot of eager buyers on their books).

Does anyone know if any brokers or websites sell such companies?

Here's a list I compiled of marketplaces where businesses are listed for sale, FWIW. Here's a directory I maintain of almost every single business broker in the UK.

Knock yourself out!

 

[WaveJumper]

Be interesting to know why our OP see merit in this plan

 

[pbdesigns]

You and millions of others.

There are over a dozen courses in the UK, all started in the last few years, claiming to teach people how they can buy successful businesses with no money down. These courses generate tens of thousands of new buyers coming into the market every year.

You are competing against all of them.

I'm not after a business to "turn around" as per those training system (I have seen those).

Appreciate the links, that's useful.