Buying & Selling a Business in Australia
The commercial ramifications of buying and selling a business are significant. For this reason it is imperative that you get it right. There is no disputing that as the Seller, you wish to obtain the optimal sale price for the business, without future complications including residual claims or litigation. Equally, as the buyer, you wish to pay a fair value for the business, get what is promised and be fully aware of any potential issues that buying the business may have.
Elliott May are committed to providing tailored solutions for our clients and appreciate the need to understand our client’s objectives to best protect and promote their interests. In the context of buying a business, we provide a comprehensive service both in advising and assisting in the commercial and lease negotiations, undertaking appropriate due diligence to identify potential problems, preparing the requisite contractual documentation, and managing every step of the process. In short, we are able to advise on all aspects of the transaction to get the deal across the line. As such, all our clients need be concerned with is the development and enjoyment of their own commercial endeavors and financial aims spanning from the business sale or acquisition.
If you are about to embark on the sale or purchase of a business, it is critical that appropriate legal advice is obtained. Being at the forefront of changes to the corporate legal landscape enables us to add value to our clients as we guide them through legal intricacies so that they can achieve successful outcomes.
Elliott May offers a full range of advisory and implementation services, including the provision of corporate law advisory services in licensing, intellectual property, leasing, employment, financial services and other laws.
Business Structures
Unquestionably, business structure is a critical factor that is often ignored by businesses. Clearly, generic growth without proper implementation of a business structure can cause many problems from the perspectives of both effective business operation and tax. Elliott May can provide efficient and viable business structure placement for all scales of businesses that will assist and benefit clients in all aspects of their business.
Negotiating Leases
Entering into and renegotiating existing commercial leases is a very important part of anyone’s business. Not only do you build up goodwill by occupying your business premises for a period of time, your location is often an integral part of your business operations. It is, therefore, very important to determine the proper terms when entering into a commercial lease. These include rental reviews, option periods available and your rights in the event of a dispute with the landlord/tenant (depending on your status).
Intellectual Property
Without specialist advice, practical implementation of the corporate and commercial laws as they relate to intellectual property may suffocate entrepreneurship and corporate growth. Our intellectual property practice has extensive experience in copyright advice, commercialisation, licensing, trademark advice, design registrations and protection of confidential information in a commercial context.
Elliott May has developed extensive experience as intellectual property specialists with in-depth understanding of the fundamental link between intellectual property and knowledge and the essential, competitive edge it can provide your business.
Franchising
This is an area of law which is often misunderstood and there is no reason for this other than inadequate or inappropriate advice. Whether you are the franchisor or the franchisee, it is of paramount importance that all aspects of entering into a franchise arrangement be thoroughly checked and vetted to ensure your contractual position is both properly explained and documented. Our practitioners have vast experience in assisting either the franchisor or the franchisee and we would look forward to assisting you in any aspect of the requirements of franchise law.
Trusts
Different types of trusts are available for various personal and business reasons, with the benefits accruing to these trusts ranging from providing education funds for individual requirements to asset protection and income generation for business purposes. If you would like to establish a trust, we can ably assist you to choose the type of trust that suits your needs and then implement the relevant documentation.
