Business Sale Agreement Spain

A Business Sale Agreement (Contrato de Compraventa de Empresa) in Spain is a written contract under which the seller (vendedor or transmitente) transfers ownership of a going-concern business — including its assets, liabilities, contracts, intellectual property, employees, and goodwill — to the buyer (comprador or adquirente) in exchange for an agreed purchase price, governed by Código de Comercio Article 325 (Real Decreto de 22 de agosto de 1885), which defines the commercial sale as one where both parties are merchants (comerciantes), and by Código Civil Article 1445, which applies where one or both parties are non-merchants. The sale of a business as a going concern (empresa en funcionamiento) is one of the most complex transactions in Spanish law, involving simultaneous application of commercial, civil, labour, tax, and administrative law.

Spanish law distinguishes between two primary structures for business acquisitions: the compraventa de empresa (asset deal or business sale) — where the buyer purchases the assets and assumes specific liabilities of the business — and the compraventa de participaciones sociales or compraventa de acciones (share deal) — where the buyer purchases the shares or participaciones of the legal entity that owns the business. The Contrato de Compraventa de Empresa template addresses the asset deal structure, which is governed by the Código de Comercio and Código Civil rather than the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2010).

Employee transfer in a business sale in Spain is governed by Article 44 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015), which establishes the principle of subrogación empresarial (employer substitution) — when a business unit or productive entity is transferred, the buyer automatically assumes all employment contracts and labour obligations of the seller relating to the transferred unit. The seller and buyer must notify the workers' legal representatives of the transfer in advance, and both remain jointly liable (solidariamente responsables) for pre-transfer labour obligations for three years under Article 44.3 ET.

The fiscal treatment of a business sale in Spain is complex. For the seller, the transfer of business assets may generate capital gains (ganancias patrimoniales) taxable under Ley 35/2006 del IRPF (for individual sellers) or under Ley 27/2014 del Impuesto sobre Sociedades (for corporate sellers). For the buyer, the purchase of business assets triggers ITP-AJD (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales y Actos Jurídicos Documentados) on each transferred asset classified as patrimonial, administered by the Consejería de Hacienda of the relevant autonomous community, with rates varying between 6% and 11% depending on the asset type and autonomous community. IVA (Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido) under Ley 37/1992 may apply to the transfer of certain business assets if the seller is an IVA taxable person — however, Article 7.1 of the Ley del IVA exempts from IVA the transfer of a totality of assets constituting an autonomous economic unit (unidad económica autónoma) capable of carrying on an independent business activity, a significant exemption for Spanish business sale transactions.

Due diligence (auditoría legal o due diligence) is a standard pre-contract procedure in Spanish business acquisitions, covering legal, financial, tax, labour, environmental, and regulatory aspects of the target business. The Registro Mercantil provides publicly searchable information on the target company's corporate history, administrator changes, mortgage charges (hipotecas), and annual accounts filings. The Registro de la Propiedad provides information on real property owned or encumbered by the business. The Agencia Tributaria and Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social issue tax and social security compliance certificates (certificados de estar al corriente de obligaciones tributarias y de la Seguridad Social) which the seller should provide to the buyer as part of the closing conditions.

A Business Sale Agreement in Spain is required whenever a going-concern business — including its productive assets, commercial relationships, employees, and goodwill — is transferred from one owner to another through an asset deal structure.

A Contrato de Compraventa de Empresa is needed when an autónomo (self-employed professional or sole trader) sells their business to an individual or company, transferring the client base, equipment, commercial name, and ongoing contracts as a package rather than individual assets.

A business sale agreement is required when a family business (empresa familiar) is sold to a third-party buyer or transferred between family members — particularly when assets include real property, machinery, or intellectual property requiring separate legal transfer formalities.

A Compraventa de Empresa is needed when a commercial establishment — retail shop, restaurant, hotel, pharmacy (farmacia), or professional practice — is sold as a going concern, including the transfer of the specific administrative licences (licencias administrativas) held by the seller under sector-specific regulations.

A business sale agreement is required when a distressed business is sold through an insolvency procedure (concurso de acreedores) under Ley 22/2003 Concursal (now superseded by Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2020, Ley Concursal), where the business or productive unit is sold by the concurso administrator (administrador concursal) to a third-party buyer as a going concern to preserve employment and creditor value.

A sale agreement is also needed when a business with employees is transferred — triggering mandatory Article 44 ET subrogación obligations — requiring formal notification to workers' representatives (comité de empresa or delegados de personal) at least 15 days before the transfer date under Article 44.6 ET.

Parties in Spain should prepare a Business Sale Agreement Spain proactively rather than waiting for a dispute to arise. Courts interpret agreements based on the written terms rather than oral representations. Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255. Where the transaction involves regulated activities, prior approval from the relevant authority may be required before execution.

A valid Business Sale Agreement in Spain under Código de Comercio Article 325 and Código Civil Article 1445 must contain the following essential elements to effect a legally sound and commercially complete transfer of the business.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, DNI/NIE or NIF/CIF, Registro Mercantil registration (for companies), address, and legal representative details of both seller (vendedor/transmitente) and buyer (comprador/adquirente).

Description of the Business: Full name (nombre comercial or denominación social), registered address, principal CNAE economic activity code, brief description of the business operations, and confirmation that the business is transferred as a going concern (empresa en funcionamiento).

Schedule of Transferred Assets: A detailed schedule (anexo) listing all assets included in the sale — tangible assets (machinery, equipment, vehicles, inventory, furniture), intangible assets (trademarks, patents, software licences, domain names, customer databases), real property (inmuebles) or lease agreements (contratos de arrendamiento), and commercial contracts with suppliers and customers.

Assumption of Liabilities: A clear statement of which liabilities the buyer assumes — trade payables, loans, lease obligations — and which the seller retains. Under Article 44 ET, all employment-related liabilities relating to transferred employees are assumed by the buyer regardless of the contract language.

Employee Transfer (Subrogación Article 44 ET): A list of all employees to be transferred under Article 44 ET, their employment terms, seniority, and any outstanding obligations. Confirmation of prior notification to workers' representatives under Article 44.6 ET.

Purchase Price and Payment: The agreed total purchase price, its allocation between asset categories (for tax purposes), the payment method and schedule, and any escrow or retention mechanism (retención en garantía) pending resolution of post-closing adjustments or contingencies.

Representations and Warranties (Declaraciones y Garantías): Seller's warranties on title to assets, absence of undisclosed liabilities, accuracy of financial statements, compliance with applicable law, absence of pending litigation, and status of tax and social security obligations.

Conditions Precedent: Any conditions that must be satisfied before closing — regulatory approvals (e.g., Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia — CNMC — clearance for larger transactions), transfer of specific licences, third-party consents, or completion of due diligence.

IVA Treatment: Confirmation of whether the transfer qualifies as a non-VAT operation under Article 7.1 of the Ley 37/1992 del IVA (transfer of a totality of assets forming an autonomous economic unit), or whether IVA applies to specific asset categories.

Non-Competition Clause: A post-closing non-compete obligation on the seller under Article 1255 CC — limiting their right to carry on a competing business in the same geographic and commercial area for a reasonable period (typically 2–5 years in Spanish commercial practice).

Forms-legal.com provides this Business Sale Agreement Spain template as a starting point. The transfer of a Spanish business invariably requires specialist legal counsel (abogado mercantilista), a tax advisor (asesor fiscal), and, where real property is included, a Notario for the relevant escrituras públicas.

Additional compliance elements for a Business Sale Agreement Spain used in Spain include: Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255. Forms-legal.com provides this template as a starting point for Spain-compliant documentation.