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BUSINESS ACQUISITION SOLICITORS

Buy the business. Back the opportunity.

Buy a UK business with transparent fixed-fee legal support that uncovers risk, strengthens the terms and protects your investment.

MA phased approach icon Phased approach SRA-regulated solicitors icon SRA-regulated solicitors

Our acquisition support

Uncover the risks before they become yours

The seller knows the business inside out. You have a much shorter window to build the same understanding: what you're really acquiring, what the business depends on and which risks and liabilities could become yours.

Our business acquisition solicitors run a focused legal due diligence process, so what we find shapes the deal you sign rather than surfacing after completion.

Test what the seller tells you

We review the contracts, employment arrangements, IP, property and compliance records behind the seller's disclosures, checking that the business you're being shown matches the one you're buying.

Identify what could affect value

We flag the issues that matter: customer contracts that can be terminated on a change of control, key people without proper agreements, unresolved disputes, missing licences and liabilities the price hasn't accounted for.

Turn findings into deal protection

What we uncover feeds directly into your negotiation, whether that's a price adjustment, a different deal structure, or warranties and indemnities in the share or asset purchase agreement.

M&A

OUR ACQUISITION SUPPORT

Uncover the risks before they become yours

The seller knows the business inside out. Our role is to help you build the understanding you need in a much shorter window: what you're really acquiring, what the business depends on and which risks and liabilities could become yours.

Our business acquisition solicitors test the information provided, identify issues that could affect the business or its value, and make sure those findings shape the price, structure and contractual protections you negotiate.

our acquisition support

Choose the right deal structure

A share purchase and an asset purchase offer different levels of continuity, control and protection. Our solicitors help you understand the trade-offs and agree the best approach before the heads of terms are signed.

  • Share purchase

    You buy the company itself. Its contracts, employees, property and assets usually stay in place, but so do its liabilities. This offers greater continuity, but it makes thorough due diligence and strong contractual protection especially important.

  • Asset purchase

    You buy selected parts of the business, such as its equipment, stock, contracts, goodwill or intellectual property. This gives you more control over what you acquire, but contracts, leases, licences and employees may need to be transferred separately.

How we approach the purchase

Four phases, each priced before it begins

After a free first conversation, your purchase moves through up to four phases. You approve the scope and the fee before each one begins, and you may stop after any phase. Subscribers save 10% to 30% on every phase, depending on their plan.

  1. Start

    Deal clarity

    Get the early terms right before they become difficult to change

    Fixed at £950
    • An initial call with solicitor
    • Confidentiality agreement
    • Heads of terms
    • Advice on deal structure
    • Key buyer conditions and protections
    • Initial timetable and next steps
    • Coordination with your accountant, tax adviser or funder
    No obligation
  2. Review

    Due diligence

    Investigate the business, focusing on the risks that matter most to the deal.

    From £2,000 £2,000 - £5,000
    • Due diligence on the business & transaction
    • Review of key legal and commercial risks
    • Focused enquiries with the seller's advisers
    • Due diligence report highlighting red flags
    • Legal advice on report findings
    • Recommendations on changes, conditions or protections
    Stop or continue
  3. Transact

    Deal execution

    Negotiate the acquisition agreement around the due diligence findings.

    From £2,500 £2,500 to £7,500
    • Share or asset purchase agreement
    • Price, payment structure & completion terms
    • Warranties, indemnities & seller disclosures
    • Structuring earn-outs, deferred payments & retentions
    • Restrictive covenants & handover arrangements
    • Coordination with your accountant, tax adviser or funders
    • Negotiation with the seller’s solicitors
    Stop or continue
  4. Finalise

    Closing the deal

    Sign the legal documents and transfer the business into your name.

    From £1,000 £1,000 to £2,000
    • Final review of the documents & completion requirements
    • Preparing board, shareholder and transfer documents
    • Signing support & coordination between the parties
    • Completion call
    Deal completed

Every phase is scoped and quoted before it begins, so you are never committed beyond the next step, and if you stop after any phase you owe nothing for work that has not started. Buying a business is one of our fixed-fee services, and subscribers save 10% (Launch), 20% (Accelerate), 25% (Scale) or 30% (Enterprise) on every phase. See the plans or how fixed-fee pricing works.

Our business dispute acquisition solicitors

A senior solicitor on your deal from first consultation to final signature

Drawing on experience from leading law firms and international businesses, our business acquisition solicitors support first-time buyers, experienced acquirers, investors and management teams buying businesses across the UK.

Patricia Tinn

Legal Service Director

James Conning

Commercial Solicitor

Ashrelle Parker-Belgrave

Commercial Solicitor

Dr Jackie Nagtegaal

Co-Founder & Director

Willem van der Merwe

Co-Founder

Jan Nagtegaal

Director

Knowledge hub

Frequently asked questions

Answers to the questions we hear most often, on how the subscription works, what it covers and how we charge.

Once you have found a business you want to buy, our business acquisition solicitors support you through every legal stage of the deal. We help structure the transaction, carry out due diligence to understand what you are buying and identify any risks or liabilities, and negotiate the transaction documents and protections. We then manage the process through to completion, with the same solicitor staying with you throughout.

That is exactly what due diligence is there to do: identify issues before you are committed to the deal. If we uncover a liability, a contract that cannot be transferred or anything else that changes the risk, we explain what it means and how it could affect the purchase. We then help you decide the best response. That might mean renegotiating the price or terms, asking the seller to resolve the issue before completion, adding stronger warranties or a specific indemnity, or walking away if the risk is too great. The usual issues and negotiations are covered within the phase. If something genuinely takes the work beyond the agreed scope, we discuss the options and cost with you before going further.

Part of our job is making sure you do not take on risks you never agreed to. We advise whether buying the shares or selected assets gives you the better position, based on what you want to acquire and what liabilities could come with it. We then negotiate the protections built into the deal. That can include warranties requiring the seller to stand behind the information they have provided, indemnities covering specific risks, and retentions or staged payments where it makes sense to hold back part of the price.

Most business aquisitions take around three to six months from signed heads of terms to completion. The timing depends on how prepared both sides are, what due diligence uncovers and how quickly the seller and any third parties, such as landlords or lenders, respond. Once you are ready to proceed, we can usually prepare or review the heads of terms within a few days. Due diligence and negotiation then continue over the following weeks. As soon as we understand the shape of the deal, we will give you a realistic timeline and keep you updated as it progresses.

You can book a no-cost, no-obligation consultation online at any stage, whether you have only started speaking to the seller or already have terms on the table. We will use the call to understand the business, where the purchase stands and the support you need, then explain how we would approach the deal and whether Lawyerly is the right fit. If you decide to move forward, we will send you a fixed-fee proposal setting out the scope, cost and next steps for the first phase. Once you approve and pay, we will introduce the solicitor handling the purchase and get started.

Client stories

What our clients say

Real outcomes from the businesses we act for, in their words.

4.8 on Google

A fresh approach. Exceptional value.

A fresh approach to legal services. They've guided us through multiple planned and reactive cases for our business. Exceptional turnaround times and great value for money.

Kerry Power Client Relations, Pantheon Property Services
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Thinking about buying a business?

Tell us about the business you are looking to buy and where you are in the process. Our business aquisition solicitors will explain the legal support you need, what is included and the fixed fee before work starts.

Willem van der Merwe

Co-Founder

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