Selling your business: your responsibilities
Limited company
Your responsibilities will be different, depending on whether:
- you’re selling the entire shareholding in your limited company
- the company is selling part of its business
Selling the entire shareholding
Appoint new directors or company secretaries
You should appoint new directors before you resign as a director yourself.
Tell Companies House to make these changes.
Capital Gains Tax
You may have made a ‘capital gain’ when selling the company (for example the money you get from the sale, or assets from it that you keep).
If this means you need to pay Capital Gains Tax, you may be able to reduce the amount by claiming Entrepreneurs’ Relief. You may also be able to claim other reliefs.
Charges against your company
If you’ve secured finance for the company against your personal property (for example a mortgage on your house to secure a business loan), you must let the provider know within 21 days of the sale.
VAT registration
If the company is registered for VAT, you may want to transfer the VAT registration number to the new owner.
If your company sells part of the business
If any employees are affected by the sale (for example the company’s selling its production business and factory staff will be affected), you must tell them about the changes, including:
- when and why part of the company is being sold
- details about the redundancy terms or relocation packages, if necessary
Make sure you don’t breach employees’ rights when a business changes ownership.