Businesses for sale in Peterborough
- Active listings
- 38 in Peterborough right now
- Top industries
- Food & beverage 16·Retail 11·Automotive 7
- Population
- 128,624Statistics Canada, 2021 Census · Peterborough census metropolitan area
Available in Peterborough
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Buying a business in Peterborough: what is different here
Licensing, inspection and land-use rules are municipal, so they change at the city limits — these are the ones that attach to a business in Peterborough, with the authority’s own page for each.
Licensed by category, not in general
Peterborough issues no general business licence — it licenses specific activities instead, and City Clerk's Office lists “Bake Shop, Caterer, Restaurant”, “Barber Shop, Esthetics Services, Hairdressing Establishment”, “Auto Centre”, “Mobile Canteen” and 6 more. If the business you are buying falls under one of them, confirm which licence the seller actually holds and whether it is current: it is issued to the operator, so it does not transfer with the sale, and reapplying can surface conditions the previous owner had already satisfied.
City of Peterborough — City Clerk's Office →If it serves food, the inspection history is not published
Lakelands Public Health inspects food premises in Peterborough, but does not publish the results. For a restaurant, café or food retailer the inspection history has to be requested — from the seller as a diligence item, or from Lakelands Public Health directly. Ask for it early: it is a routine request that becomes a telling one if it is refused.
Lakelands Public Health →Ontario charges a payroll health tax
Payroll is usually the largest recurring cost a business with staff carries, which makes Ontario's Employer Health Tax a real line in the model rather than a footnote — an acquirer in Peterborough takes on the obligation along with the staff. Rates and exemption thresholds change, so check the province's current figures rather than the seller's last return.
Ontario Employer Health Tax →Confirming the use is actually permitted
A business operating today is not proof the use is legally permitted — non-conforming uses, expired variances and conditions attached to a previous owner all survive a sale quietly. In Peterborough that is confirmed before closing rather than after, through the office linked below.
City of Peterborough — Planning and Development Services →General information, not legal or tax advice — rules change and the authorities above are the current source. Deavo is a listings platform, not a brokerage.