Who owns the jukebox, pool tables and ATM in a bar I’m buying?

Walk through a bar and you may see a music machine, a pool table and a cash machine by the door. It is natural to assume they belong to the business. Many do not. Vendors often place them for free and share the income with the bar. If the listing or the seller’s equipment list includes them, check that it is true before you count them as part of what you are buying.

Ask who owns each machine

Make a list of every machine and table that is not obviously part of the bar itself. For each one, ask whether the bar bought it, leases it or only hosts it. A serial number or vendor label on the machine is a good clue. Ask for the purchase paperwork or the placement contract. If the bar does not own it, it should not appear on the equipment list in your offer.

How the income is split and recorded

Where a vendor owns the machine, the bar usually receives a share of what it earns. Ask how the share is calculated, how often the vendor pays, and where it appears in the books. Some bars record only their share; others record everything and then the vendor’s cut as an expense. Ask your accountant to read the statements with you so you can see which approach the seller used.

Does the contract pass to a buyer?

Read each contract for its length, its renewal terms, whether the vendor can move or remove the machine, and what it says about a change of owner. Some require the vendor’s consent, and some renew on their own. Ask your lawyer whether the contract can be assigned, and whether you want to keep it, renegotiate it or let it end.

• The vendor’s name and contact for each machine.
• Purchase records, or a placement contract, for each item.
• The last year of statements showing the bar’s share of income.
• Any clause covering removal, repairs or a change of owner.