Sell
Sell without the whole world finding out.
Confidentiality from the first conversation.
We prepare your restaurant so it sells for what it's worth, and we run the process so your staff, suppliers and customers carry on with a normal day until you decide otherwise.
The difference
Four things a general broker doesn't do.
We value the business, not just the premises
The years of regulars, the brand, the trained team, the permits already in order: all of that has value, and all of it is lost when someone sells “premises with a kitchen”. We value it separately and we charge for it separately.
We build the evidence before going to market
No serious buyer pays the asking price without being able to check it. We assemble the file with the information cross-checked against independent sources, so the price isn't an opinion.
We filter before we show
A restaurant for sale attracts plenty of curious people and very few buyers. We qualify the interested party before showing them anything, so you don't lose whole mornings to people who were never going to buy.
We structure the transfer
Transferring the company and transferring the assets are not the same thing. Municipal permits can travel with the company and save the buyer months, which is a price argument in your favour.
Step by step
Nothing goes to market before it's ready.
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1
First conversation
You tell us what you have and what you're hoping for. No cost, no commitment, and without having to show us a single financial statement yet. Sometimes the honest conclusion is that this isn't the moment to sell, and we'll tell you that too.
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2
Confidentiality agreement
Signed before you pass us anything sensitive. From there we can talk about real numbers knowing they don't leave the room.
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3
Gathering and verification
This is where the real work is. We collect the information on the business and cross-check it:
- Declared sales against what the tax filings show
- Real profitability, stripping out the personal spending that runs through the business accounts
- A cross-check against what a place of your size and headcount should be doing
- The state of permits, licences and the lease
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4
Going to market
The business is offered without being publicly identified. Interested parties get the general information first; the full file is shown in a meeting, under signed agreement, and only to someone who has already demonstrated they can buy.
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5
Negotiation and closing
We sit through the negotiation with the evidence in hand, and coordinate the structure of the transfer with the lawyer, including what happens to the permits and to the staff.
Get ready
What's worth having to hand.
You need none of this for the first conversation. It's so you know where the process is heading. If something's missing, we put it together with you.
- The last 24 months of sales. Even if it's straight from the point of sale or the bank deposits. Two years show seasonality; one year doesn't.
- Tax filings. They're the independent source that gives everything else credibility.
- Payroll and team structure. How many people, in which roles, and how long they've been there.
- The lease. Time remaining, amount, and whether it allows assignment to a third party.
- Permits and licences. Which ones are current, and whose name they're in.
- Equipment inventory. What goes with the business and what doesn't. This list prevents arguments on closing day.
One piece of advice we don't charge for:
If you're thinking of selling within the next year, start separating personal spending from the business's today. Twelve months of clean books are worth more, in final price, than anything you can do afterwards.
Questions
What we get asked most.
Will my staff find out?
No, unless you decide they should. All the information is handled under a confidentiality agreement and the business file doesn't circulate: it's shown in a meeting, to already-qualified parties, under signed agreement.
It's the main reason we work this way. If word gets out that you're selling, you lose staff, suppliers tighten your terms, and the sale becomes urgent. A seller in a hurry always gets less.
Publishing the opportunity on the site is optional and your call. If it goes up, it goes up without the business name or address. Even so, anyone who knows the place may recognise it from the photos, and we talk that through before it's published.
Do I have to sign an exclusive?
We discuss it case by case. Exclusivity has a practical reason behind it: preparing a business properly takes work, and that work is only justified if there's a commitment on the other side.
What is fixed: the scope, the term and the fees are in writing before we start. Nothing gets decided as we go.
My books aren't entirely in order. Is that a problem?
It's the norm, not the exception. Almost every restaurant mixes personal spending with the business's, and almost every one earns more than the paperwork shows.
Part of our job is to clean that up and arrive at the real profit — the kind a buyer can verify. That adjustment usually raises the defensible price rather than lowering it.
What if the premises are leased?
It can still be sold. What transfers is the business as a going concern, and the lease becomes a central piece: its term, its assignment conditions, and the landlord's willingness.
It's one of the first things we look at, because a lease with two months left and no assignment clause completely changes what you can ask for.
What do you charge?
A commission on the transaction value when we broker the sale. The percentage and what it covers are set out in writing before we start.
The first conversation and the initial guidance cost nothing.
How long does it take to sell?
It depends on the business and the price, but there's a pattern: the part that drags is almost never finding a buyer — it's gathering and verifying the information.
A restaurant with clear books, permits in order and an assignable lease moves far faster than one where everything has to be reconstructed. That's why we start there.
Let's talk
What is your restaurant worth?
Tell us where it is and how long it's been running. We'll give you a first read at no cost, without you having to show us a single document yet.