Buying FAQ's

While our brokers work as a team we believe that you are best served by dealing with the one person.  At LINK, formerly Klemms, all of our brokers can sell you any of the businesses that we have available for sale.

Yes. Our policy requires the purchaser to sign a Confidentiality Agreement and provide a current photo ID to ensure that proprietary information relating to the business in question remains confidential. Privacy & discretion are a fundamental and mandatory pre-requisite of our processes designed to protect the vendor's business and intellectual property.

Once you have signed a Confidentiality Agreement you will be provided with further information about the business such as location, financials, lease and any other documentation the vendor has made available.

Yes. We strongly recommend that you obtain the services of independent legal and financial advisors to ensure that your legal, financial and taxation matters are correctly handled.

Klemms provides in-house drafting of the prescribed Contract of Sale for the business, however, it is advisable to seek independent advice before signing any documents. Our contract drafting will save you time and money and is the prescribed Contract of Sale provided by the Business Licencing Authority in Victoria (BLA). 

Often a trial period, and a training period, are included in the contract as a condition of the sale. Typically, in the hospitality industry, the trial period is carried out for two weeks prior to settlement. The training period may be during the trial period, or immediately after settlement, and usually runs for two weeks. Training would cover how the business operates and how to run it successfully going forward.

It is important to note that training arrangements are unique to every business. For larger, complex businesses or simply where the buyer requires more training, additional training can also be negotiated contractually with the vendor.

Occasionally. Some vendors do depending on the security being offered, the experience of the purchaser and whether the vendors are comfortable with them. The arrangement should be legally formalised and should cover such things as amount borrowed, term of loan, interest rate, security being offered, repayment schedule etc.

Yes. LINK, formerly Klemms have assisted many buyers purchase businesses in this way.

Contact any one of our business brokers via mobile or email, you can find the details to all our brokers on the “Meet the Team” page. You can also contact our office directly, we’re open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, phone 03 9819 4211, via email – melbourne@linkbusiness.com.au or our website www.klemms.com.au. If you would like to schedule an appointment, call us, or send a request with preferred times and we will be happy to organise one right away.

Contact us now for a confidential and obligation free discussion.

Having made the decision to make an offer on one of our business listings, you will generally follow the process outlined below. Your broker will keep you informed of immediate next steps and key dates related to the buying process.

• Communicate offer verbally or in writing to the broker you are dealing with for the business listing.
• The business broker will document your offer on a “Heads of Agreement”, detailing the specifics of the proposed offer and sale conditions to the vendor. The “Heads of Agreement” is an informal offer made in the absence of a formal Contract of Sale and is an offer in principal which forms the basis for the preparation of the formal Contract of Sale.
• On presentation of the offer to the Vendor to purchase a business, the buyer is required to pay an initial deposit (minimum of $1,000 or 1% of the purchase price, whichever is greater) to put the business "under offer". The deposit is held in trust and is 100% refundable should the sale not progress for any reason.
• Once the Heads of Agreement is signed by both parties, the deal progresses to due diligence. This is the period in which the buyer is given time to scrutinise the operations and financials of the business in more detail. The aim of due diligence is to ensure that no material misrepresentation(s) have been made during of the sale and marketing process. The business broker will be on hand to facilitate this phase, and will provide you with all the necessary due diligence documents and keep things moving in the right direction.
• During the due diligence period, the broker will start drafting the prescribed Contract of Sale, a legally binding document, the Contract of Sale is sent to both parties and their legal representatives for review.
• Once the Contract of Sale is agreed to by both parties, the Contract of Sale will be sent to the Purchaser and Vendor for signing. 
• On signing of the contracts, the balance of the deposit is required which is usually 10% or $10,000, whichever is the greater.
• After signing of the contracts, the Purchaser applies for the transfer of the lease of the premises, and any other relevant permits and licences, checks the assets to ensure that everything has been included. 
• The balance of the final sale price is payable by the Purchaser to the Vendor at settlement.

LINK, formerly Klemms has been specialising in the purchase and sale of businesses in Victoria since 1946.

Since then we have literally sold thousands of businesses making us one of Australia’s premier business brokers.

There are many reasons why you should see us when looking for a business:

• Our reputation and acknowledged expertise means that we have many of Victoria’s best businesses available for sale
• Most of our brokers have been business owners themselves which means that they can give you advice based on actual experience rather than theory or second hand knowledge
• We have advanced systems and a dedicated and experienced support team
• We fully support, and adhere to, the industry and compliance standards of the REIV and AIBB.
• We are Certified Business Valuers and accredited members of the REIV and AIBB
• We are a successful company with a long history of service to Melbourne’s business community. We invest in our business and our people and strive to continuously improve the standard of service that we provide
• We have a huge number of satisfied clients resulting in a significant amount of repeat business with clients buying and selling numerous businesses through us
• Our system allows potential buyers to create individualised “alerts” that inform them as soon as a business that meets their specific needs becomes available
• We provide personalised service. Although we work as a team, buyers work with the one broker who will get to know you and your needs
• In almost every case we receive a commission from the vendor on the successful sale of a business. Our assistance to the buyer is usually without charge
• We have a multilingual sales team to help both local and overseas buyers
• Our systems and processes ensure strict adherence to confidentiality and discretion for both the buyer and the vendor.

Business Brokers,

• can introduce you to many more businesses than you would find on your own
• are usually paid by the Vendor and will save you time and money
• can help structure the offer and act as a negotiator/buffer between the Buyer and Vendor.