Harwood Andrews Lawyers’ Business Law team is not only technically astute. We bring a genuine understanding of business to every transaction we undertake, ensuring the counsel we provide our clients is more pertinent and valuable.

We have a record of driving significant deals with successful outcomes across a mix of industries and assets, including transport operators, hotels and motels, liquor and gaming licences and motor vehicle dealerships.

We are experienced in preparing contracts of sale. Where the contract of sale is prepared by the other party to the transaction, we advise our client on the ramifications of the proposed terms and negotiate positive outcomes. These include managing the terms and conditions of any restraint of trade which may be entered into, the warranties which are to be given to the vendor, the penalty for breach of warranties and the duration of the warranties.

Where a transaction is affected by way of sales of shares and units, we are frequently called on to provide advice on the nature of the assets and liabilities which are to be transferred upon completion and the structuring of the enterprise’s balance sheet after settlement.

Our expertise also covers:

• assisting clients in negotiating agreements in relation to the terms of sale
• assessment of offers which are received and assisting clients in the negotiation phase
• preparation of information memoranda
• assessment of the taxation consequences of sales, with particular reference to the sale of a business as distinct from the sale of shares or units (where the enterprise is conducted by a company or unit trust)
• preparation of completion statements, which list all matters which must be addressed at settlement and, subsequently, implementation of these matters, such as change of names of proprietors, transfer of domain names and transfer of trademarks and other intellectual property