Can I transfer a business licence to a numbered company instead of my buyer personally?

Whether a licence can be issued to a numbered company rather than your buyer as an individual generally depends on the specific licensing regime, not on any general preference about corporate versus personal ownership — many business licences are perfectly capable of being held by a corporation, including a numbered company, provided the corporation itself meets whatever the licensing body requires, such as principals passing background checks or the corporation demonstrating financial qualification.

This is a common and often sensible structure: buyers frequently use a numbered company to hold the purchased assets and operate the business, both for liability protection and for tax and financing reasons unrelated to licensing at all. Some licences, though, are tied specifically to an individual's personal qualifications and can't simply be reissued to a corporate entity regardless of who owns or controls it, which is a different and more limiting situation.

Because this depends entirely on the specific licence involved, confirm with the relevant licensing body whether corporate ownership is acceptable before structuring your buyer's purchase around a numbered company. A Treadstone business lawyer can help identify which licences allow this and which don't.