What transfers when I buy a home-based gift basket business?

When a gift basket business runs from a home, there is no shop to walk through and no lease to take over. What you buy is a set of accounts, relationships and know-how. That makes a clear transfer list more important than usual, because your lawyer will want to confirm what the list covers. Build the list early and check it item by item.

The website, domain and online store

Ask who registered the domain and in whose name it sits. Find out which platform runs the online store, who holds the admin login, and whether the payment account can be moved or must be opened fresh. Photos, product descriptions and the customer database are part of this too. Confirm that all of it can be handed over, not just the address.

Social accounts, clients and supplier accounts

Social media pages are often where orders begin. Ask who controls them and whether the page name passes to you. For corporate clients, ask for the list and how each was won. For suppliers and couriers, ask which accounts are personal to the owner, because your lawyer can say whether terms carry over to a new name. See how to check supplier relationships.

The owner’s design style and a handover plan

Customers may be buying the look of the baskets as much as the contents. Ask the owner to document recipes, packaging, sourcing and seasonal lines, and to agree a handover period with introductions to the best clients. Ask your lawyer how the transfer list, the handover and any promise not to compete should be written into the agreement.