Moncton's trucking, warehousing and distribution firms sit at the crossroads of the Maritimes, alongside the franchise restaurants and retail that serve a metro area shoppers and travellers pass through daily. A bilingual workforce widens the buyer pool beyond the usual local search, and that's the first thing we scope when a logistics or consumer-facing deal crosses our desk.
Part of New Brunswick — one provincial deal market, page by page.
Every figure below traces to a named public source — no estimates, no filler.
†Typical patterns across New Brunswick deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
The same sequence underlies almost every owner-run Moncton deal — what changes from deal to deal is how long each step takes.
Reaching an agreement
Buyer and seller agree on price and key terms, usually informally, before lawyers draft anything binding. We review before you sign — even a "non-binding" LOI can lock in terms you didn't mean to fix.
usually 1–2 weeks†The APS sets out price, structure (asset or share), conditions, and closing date. We draft or review it and negotiate the protections — reps, warranties, holdbacks — that actually matter for your deal.
1–3 weeks to negotiate†Corporate, PPSA lien, litigation, and licence searches confirm what you're actually buying. We chase the seller's lawyer, the registries, and any regulator whose sign-off your deal needs.
2–4 weeks, in parallel†Getting to closing
Landlord, franchisor, lender, and licensing-body sign-offs are chased in parallel with the paperwork. In Moncton the provincial pieces — the Corporate Registry search, the WorkSafeNB clearance letter, and any liquor-licensing step — get started alongside the landlord's consent, not after it, and the city's own by-laws set the municipal-licence mechanics.
often the critical path†Funds, keys, and signed documents change hands. We coordinate directly with both sides' lawyers and the lender so nothing is left to a last-minute phone call.
1 day, once conditions are met†Registrations, licence transfers still in progress, and any post-closing deliverables — like a holdback release — get tracked to completion, not left for you to chase.
1–2 week tail†This is the first real decision in almost every deal — and it changes what you're buying, what you're taking on, and how it's taxed.
| Question | Asset purchase | Share purchase |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The business's assets — equipment, inventory, lease, goodwill, name. | The shares of the company itself — everything it owns, and everything it owes. |
| Seller's liabilities | Generally stay behind with the seller's corporation. | Generally come with the company, known and unknown. |
| Tax angle — seller | Straightforward proceeds treatment in most cases. | May qualify for the lifetime capital-gains exemption on qualifying small business shares. |
| Tax angle — buyer | A stepped-up cost base on assets bought; an HST s.167 election may apply. | Cost base carries over from the seller — a different position for the buyer. |
| Licences & contracts | Must generally be re-issued or assigned into the buyer's name. | Usually stay in place, since the corporation itself doesn't change. |
| Employees | Employment Standards Act continuity rules typically apply. | Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change. |
| Typical use in Moncton | Most trucking, retail and food-service deals here — HST is the only sales tax on the table, so the s.167 election is the tax conversation, not a separate provincial levy. | Seen in logistics operators with standing carrier contracts and safety records — the corporation continues, so that track record isn't rebuilt from scratch. |
The business's assets — equipment, inventory, lease, goodwill, name.
The shares of the company itself — everything it owns, and everything it owes.
Generally stay behind with the seller's corporation.
Generally come with the company, known and unknown.
Straightforward proceeds treatment in most cases.
May qualify for the lifetime capital-gains exemption on qualifying small business shares.
A stepped-up cost base on assets bought; an HST s.167 election may apply.
Cost base carries over from the seller — a different position for the buyer.
Must generally be re-issued or assigned into the buyer's name.
Usually stay in place, since the corporation itself doesn't change.
Employment Standards Act continuity rules typically apply.
Employment generally continues uninterrupted — the employer doesn't change.
Most trucking, retail and food-service deals here — HST is the only sales tax on the table, so the s.167 election is the tax conversation, not a separate provincial levy.
Seen in logistics operators with standing carrier contracts and safety records — the corporation continues, so that track record isn't rebuilt from scratch.
We tell you which structure fits — before you sign anything.
Different lists depending on which side of the deal you're on — both matter for how smoothly closing goes.
No open-ended hourly surprises — the cost is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
| Type of work | Fee | How it's confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Straightforward purchase or sale | Starting from $3,388.87 Our charges · taxes included | Confirmed in writing once we see the agreement. |
| Larger or more complex deal | Quoted to scope | Short call → fixed written quote before any work begins. |
| Searches, filings & third-party fees | At cost | Itemized on your invoice, not marked up. |
A café or restaurant, a salon, a franchise unit, or a trades business in Moncton — usually one buyer, one seller.
Start my file →A company with several owners or employees, bank financing, real estate, or a deal that needs negotiated protections before you sign.
Book a consultation →Not sure which you are? That's our job to figure out, not yours. As a rough guide, most deals under a couple of million dollars are the first kind — above that, you're usually in Mergers & Acquisitions territory.
Neighbouring pages in the same regional deal market.
The regional picture — consents, sectors and the full municipal web.
Saint John's small-business landscape sits in the shadow of a small number of large industrial employers -- an oil refinery, a pulp mill, port operations, and an aquaculture company all linked to the city's Irving-affiliated industrial base -- and many independent trades contractors, transport and marine suppliers, and uptown restaurants and shops serve or supply those larger operations.
As New Brunswick's capital and home to two universities, Fredericton's owner-run business market leans toward professional and personal-service firms (legal, accounting, consulting) serving government and higher education, plus a compact downtown of independent restaurants, retailers, and a growing cluster of IT and tech companies.
Trucking, warehousing and distribution operators here often carry standing carrier contracts, safety records and cross-border authorizations that are worth more attached to the corporation than sold off piecemeal — which is one reason logistics deals in Moncton lean toward a share structure more often than a typical retail sale would.
Not legally, but practically it widens who might buy the business — Moncton draws prospective owners from both English- and French-speaking markets, including buyers relocating from Quebec or the Acadian northeast. We make sure key contracts and staff records are available in whichever language the deal actually runs in.
Mechanically it's the same New Brunswick process as anywhere else in the province, but Moncton's retail corridors see a steady churn of franchise resales, so landlord consent and any municipal licensing step tend to be the pieces on the tighter clock — we sequence those early rather than after the franchisor paperwork is done.
It's context, not a number we put in a valuation model — steady population growth has kept demand for everyday retail and food-service businesses comparatively stable here, which matters when you're comparing a Moncton asking price to a shrinking-market comparable elsewhere in the province.
It's WorkSafeNB's written confirmation that the seller's account has no outstanding premiums owing. Skipping it exposes a buyer to stepping into that liability, so we request it as a standard closing condition regardless of what kind of business is changing hands.
Yes — HST registration doesn't transfer with the business, so the buyer sets up their own account, and where the sale qualifies as a going-concern transfer, an s.167 election can keep HST off the closing statement itself.
| Resource | Official link |
|---|---|
| City of Moncton — by-laws Municipal licensing | Visit www.moncton.ca |
| WorkSafeNB — accounts and coverage Clearance letters | Visit www.worksafenb.ca |
| New Brunswick — liquor licences and permits Licensed venues | Visit www.gnb.ca |
| New Brunswick Corporate Registry Corporate searches & extra-provincial registration | Visit www2.snb.ca |
Industries we cover
Nearby
Serving Moncton.
Tell us about your Moncton deal — we'll point you the right way and confirm the cost in writing before any work begins.