I am thinking about selling my Swiss GmbH

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
1
I see there are a number of companies offering this service.

Does anybody have experience of them and how they compare or behave, feel free to send me a PM if you want to avoid quoting in the open forum.

I see a number offered for around CHF 3,000 - CHF 5,000, I assume at this price after the selling company has taken their commission there would not be much left for me.

2
What are the benefits of buying one?

You don't need to put the 20k in, which is of course a benefit, but would likely need to move the domicile and change the name, and be sure the company has no debts.

3
Longevity. It looks better if the company has been around for 20 years.

I closed down my company rather than sell it.

4
Ï thought about closing it but so far as I googled that seemed to be an expensive business.

Originally I started it for my freelance work, then I opened a shop but closed it because of the pandemic. Switched to on-line which worked well during the pandemic but now is virtually moribund.

Edit: it is eleven years old, short of 20.

5
what type of good or service does the company sell? is it all digital?

6
One of the major disadvantages of buying (or selling) a small company from someone is undeclared debt. The owner can give a personal indemnity but that is next to useless if the seller has either moved away or has no assets.

What is far better in this situation is to sell any assets the company has, such as customer database, website (including social media) and inventory etc but make sure a lawyer draws up the contract that you are selling (or buying as the case may be) the assets and not the liabilities.

You are then left with a shell that can be closed down.

7
Not really. Cheaper than setting it up!

8
I've used a similar service before. The commissions can eat into your profits, but it's convenient and less hassle than doing it all yourself. You might want to weigh the cost against the time and effort saved.

9
Greetings there

In case you still have the GmbH and still looking to sell it PM as im interested.

Cheers

10
What was the purpose of the business? Can you describe it?

Would you also evaluate transforming it into a partnership (since it requires at least one partner residing in Switzerland)?

11

Still thinking!

I tried contacting several firms that claim to buy GmbHs, but I am not impressed. They are neither serious nor professional.
Does anybody have a good experience.

Our major suppliers have either left Switzerland or no longer offer new products.
We have no longer any premises, assets nor stock.
The company is just a shell with a web site that I built myself using Open Source from Zen Cart.

12

I still don’t understand the value proposition…why would anyone want to buy it from you instead of creating it from scratch? Its fast, easy and cheaper than whatever offer you will give them. Not to mention that the paperwork is probably about the same.

13

because when they create it from scratch they need to put up CHF 20,000

14

I am aware, but you will ask for the same amount + small margin.

15

No, the going price seems to be in the region of 3-5 thousand