When the buyer is already at the table, selling comes down to the legal work: getting the deal structured, papered, and closed without nasty surprises down the road. That's what this covers, on a fixed fee.
Brokerless sales usually start one of three ways: a competitor approaches you, a key employee or management team wants to buy, or a family member is taking over. Each has its own risks — confidentiality with a competitor, financing with an employee, fairness and tax with family. What they share is the paperwork. Get the agreements right and they protect you for years; get them wrong and you will be dealing with it long after the cheque clears.
Every sale is different, so we quote each one individually rather than offering set packages. After a short call to understand your deal, you'll get a single flat fee for the work — agreed in writing before anything starts, with no hourly meter. Whether it's a straightforward asset sale or a multi-entity deal with vendor financing, you'll know the number before you commit.
Yes. There is no requirement to use a business broker to sell your own business in Ontario. Brokers add value when you need to find a buyer confidentially, but if you already have a buyer, the essential work — structuring, documenting, and closing the deal safely — is legal work.
In a share sale, the buyer purchases your corporation itself — shares, history, contracts and all — and sellers often prefer it for tax reasons, including potential access to the lifetime capital gains exemption. In an asset sale, the buyer purchases specific assets out of the corporation and leaves the rest behind, which buyers often prefer. Which structure wins is usually the single biggest negotiation in a small business sale, and it can change your after-tax proceeds dramatically.
With a motivated buyer and a prepared business, a typical timeline is 60 to 120 days from letter of intent to closing: a few weeks negotiating the LOI, four to eight weeks of due diligence and definitive agreements, then closing mechanics. Unprepared businesses take far longer — which is why we push preparation first.
Buyer interest doesn't last forever. Get the letter of intent right and the rest of the deal follows. Book a call and we'll tell you what your deal needs, and what it doesn't.
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