Tool built 30 Sept 2026
Business Handover Checklist
Buying a hotel, B&B, guest house, pub, restaurant or café? Get a dated, week-by-week takeover plan covering staff (TUPE), licences, suppliers, utilities, bookings and systems — then tick it off, add AI-suggested tasks and print it.
Tool built 30 Sept 2026
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Handover checklist
8 weeks before completion
- Instruct a solicitor experienced in hospitality business transfers and agree the completion timetable
- Confirm funding: mortgage offer, valuation and any conditions the lender needs before completion
- Agree what is included in the sale: fixtures, fittings, equipment, stock, website, domain, phone numbers and social accounts
- Request employee liability information (TUPE): contracts, pay, holiday owed, pensions, disciplinary records
- Review the food hygiene rating, last inspection report and food safety management system (e.g. HACCP/CookSafe)
- Review current fire risk assessment, gas safety, electrical (EICR) and legionella records
4 weeks before completion
- Arrange business insurance (buildings/contents, public and employer's liability, business interruption) from completion day
- Open a business bank account and set up card payment terminals in your name
- Register the food business with the local authority at least 28 days before trading
- Hold TUPE consultation meetings with staff alongside the seller; plan payroll and pension auto-enrolment
- List all suppliers and contracts: food and drink, laundry, waste, pest control, maintenance, telecoms, software
- Agree how forward bookings and deposits will be transferred and apportioned at completion
- Plan the handover of booking channels (OTAs, channel manager, website booking engine) and payout bank details
- Register for VAT and PAYE if required, and notify your accountant of the start date
Final week before completion
- Book meter readings for gas, electricity, water and oil/LPG for completion day
- Arrange transfer of utilities, broadband and phone lines into your name
- Agree the stock-take method and valuer; confirm how stock will be valued at completion
- Collect the list of keys, codes, alarm contacts and system passwords to be handed over
- Confirm the first rota and introduce yourself to the team
Completion day
- Take meter readings and photographs; record them with the seller
- Complete the stock-take and sign the stock valuation
- Receive keys, alarm codes, safe combinations and all admin logins; change passwords immediately
- Receive the forward bookings list with deposits paid and check it against the booking systems
- Check that the inventory of fixtures, fittings and equipment matches what was agreed
First week after completion
- Update the business name, owner and contact details on Google Business Profile, website and social accounts
- Notify business rates / local tax authority of the change of occupier
- Set up accounts with key suppliers in your name and cancel any contracts you are not keeping
- Update the allergen matrix and check all food safety records are being kept
- Run the first payroll and confirm staff have been transferred on their existing terms
First month after completion
- Review the first month's trading against the forecast and adjust pricing or costs
- Review the fire risk assessment in your own name and schedule equipment servicing
- Check any retained deposits, apportionments or completion accounts have been settled with the seller
- Ask the first guests for reviews and reply to recent reviews as the new owner
This checklist is general guidance to help you plan a handover. It is not legal, tax or licensing advice. Requirements vary by country, authority and deal — confirm every item with your solicitor, accountant and the relevant authorities.
Why a Handover Plan Matters
Buying a hospitality business is not just a property purchase. On completion day you take on staff, licences, suppliers, bookings and guests who expect nothing to change. Most early problems — a lapsed licence, an unpaid supplier, a lost booking — come from a task nobody owned. A dated checklist makes sure every job has a deadline before you get the keys.
How the Checklist Works
Choose your business type and completion date and tick the options that apply, such as staff, a premises licence, food service or forward bookings. The tool builds a week-by-week plan from eight weeks before completion to the first month after, with a date against every task. Tick items off as you go, add your own tasks, ask AI for extra tasks specific to your business, and print or save the plan as a PDF.
Staff and TUPE
In the UK, when you buy a business as a going concern, employees usually transfer to you automatically on their existing terms under TUPE. You should receive employee liability information from the seller before completion, and both parties have duties to inform and consult staff. Take legal advice early — TUPE mistakes are costly.
Licences, Registrations and Bookings
Premises licences, food business registration, and any other permits need to be transferred or applied for in time. Forward bookings and deposits need to be listed, apportioned and moved across booking channels without losing a guest. Before you agree terms, check the deal with the Offer Letter & Heads of Terms Generator and the Due Diligence Analyser.
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