April Acquisitions - Stage Four, Completion and Post-Completion

During this month, Scott Richardson from our Corporate and Commercial Department will be providing a four stage summary of the acquisition process for anyone looking to purchase a business or shares in a company. This article concentrates on the fourth stage, completion and post-completion matters.

After finalising the legal documents needed under stage 3, the next stage of the acquisition process is to deal with the mechanics of completion and all post-completion matters affecting a purchaser. 

Completion consists of the following:

• signing documents needed for completion to take place (sometimes together with the Seller and their representatives);
• completion call or meeting to agree when completion takes place between lawyers; and
• payment of the purchase price, or part of the purchase price agreed, between lawyers.
• Then after completion of your acquisition, you will also likely need to deal with the following post-completion matters:
• handover of company or business documents (some of which dealt with by the lawyers);
• announcing the acquisition to suppliers, customers and employees;
• Companies House filings if acquiring shares in a company; and
• payment of stamp duty to HMRC in the case of a share purchase over £1,000.

If you are considering acquiring a business or shares in a company, or require legal assistance with preparing or reviewing the legal documents required, please contact Scott Richardson in our Corporate and Commercial Team by phone on 01329 227907 or by email on scott.richardson@glanvilles.co.uk.

The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute, legal advice, and should not be relied upon as advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. All content was correct at the time of publishing. Legal advice should always be sought in relation to specific circumstances.