The Exit Toolkit · Sheet 13 of 20
Completion day
What actually happens when you sell
Before the day
The sale agreement is agreed and final, the disclosure letter is settled, and the ancillaries are prepared: resignation letters, stock transfer forms, board minutes, Companies House forms.
Signing and exchange
You sign your set of documents, the buyer signs theirs, and the lawyers exchange them, usually electronically.
The money moves
The purchase price is sent between the solicitors and then, once received, on to you. This is the moment the business changes hands.
Resignations take effect
Unless you are staying on, your resignation as director takes effect at completion.
Straight after
The buyer's lawyers file at Companies House. You inform customers, suppliers and staff (only once the deal is done, to avoid unsettling anyone early), and a practical handover begins.
Then the tax
Report and pay the CGT, with your accountant's help. If any of the price is deferred or in an earn-out, diarise the dates and keep the paperwork safe.
Bottom line
Congratulations: crack open the champagne. Then let your advisors close out the post-completion loose ends properly, because clean endings prevent future disputes.
General information only, not legal advice. Steven Mather Solicitor is a trading name of Kesters Nook Limited; legal work is carried out through Nexa Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the SRA (number 633024).