Thailand Live Saturday 12 October 2024

[kingsleychef]

Hi All,

My business partner and myself have a long background of working in the hotel & restaurant business.

We are looking at buying a pre-existing restaurant & accommodation business in Thailand.

The business in question has left us with a lot of questions, and we are looking for solutions to help us move forward and facilitate an easy buy.

We are looking for advice on what to check with the current owner and what needs be made sure that it is really what the owner says it is.

We are also looking for legal representation that help check the current credentials of the business, debts if any? Requirements on our behalf etc?

If anyone knows of a good firm or a some "do's & don'ts" please feel free to let me know.

Thanks in advance.

[PattayaPhom]

Full inventory, lease arrangements, staff contracts, any business that cant supply detailed accounts leave alone......

[Tmymaimee]

Having sold my business, look outside of just the financials. Does the laundry power expense to bookings ratio stay consistent? Any ratios that are normal should stay constant month over month. Only pay on goodwill for actual declared earnings. You are legally responsible for any unpaid taxes. Hire a very good lawyer and business consultant experienced in this area.

[Soutpeel]

Do your full due dilligence on all fronts, dont accept what the current owner tell's you as being the truth.

Spending money up front on a good legal firm to do the due dilligence on the legal/financial front, will stop problems later on, so is worth spending the cash.

On the "technical" front pretty sure you know what your looking at as regards due dilligence having the experience

On legal firms, a starting point could be on of TV sponsors...eg Sunbelt

[A. BOOZER]

Without trying to be disparaging, I would firstly spend time working out why the business is for sale. Don't accept what the owner or agent says (the usual sale pitches are glaringly obvious!). Take time to go around the area, checking on similar business'. Are there any newly opened ones that could be impacting on the business that you are interested in? Has 'your' business lost any key members of staff recently? This could create difficulties for falang owners - replacing quality staff is not easy! Do the sums add up? Don't rush into any commitment without much thought and consideration, it is too easy to let a dream outweigh the hard facts of commercial life, never more so than when coming to LOS.

If you do proceed with a purchase, I wish you the very best of luck.