Trucking companies, couriers, movers, warehousing and 3PL operators, driving schools, taxi and shuttle fleets, and self-storage facilities make up Ontario's transportation-and-logistics resale family — a group that ranges from fleet-heavy operating businesses to what functions, in practice, as income real estate. The thread running through most of the family is that a regulator watches ownership changes closely wherever vehicles or a carrier profile are involved, and vehicle or equipment financing shows up in nearly every deal.
Carrier and ownership scrutiny favours share sales — Where a business carries a CVOR profile and safety history built up over years, trucking especially, a share sale is often preferred specifically to keep that history and any customer contracts attached to the same corporate entity, since regulators scrutinize ownership and officer changes closely. Courier and moving businesses face a lighter version of the same dynamic as their fleets cross relevant weight thresholds.
Vehicles and equipment are usually financed — Trucks, delivery vehicles, moving equipment and warehouse material-handling gear are commonly financed across this family, which makes a PPSA lien search a standard part of diligence rather than an optional check. Confirming what's owned outright versus what's still encumbered is routine before a deal is finalized.
Self-storage trades more like real estate than an operating business — A self-storage facility sale typically skews toward standard commercial real-estate diligence, title, zoning, financing, environmental review, because cap rate and net operating income usually drive the deal more than any operating goodwill. It sits in this family by function, but the legal work looks closer to a property transaction.
Municipal and provincial approvals apply where the public interacts directly — Taxi and limousine licensing, driving-school course-provider approval, and similar public-facing authorizations are typically tied to the specific licensed operator and require their own re-application or approval on a change of ownership. These run in parallel with the purchase agreement and are worth starting early.
Browse the specific transportation and logistics business types below for the regulatory and fleet details particular to each.
The GTA is Canada's freight hub; owner-operator fleets to small carriers; $200K–$10M+; frequently SHARE sales to keep the corporation's CVOR history and customer contracts intact.
Local courier and last-mile delivery operators; typically $100K–$2M; asset sales built around client delivery contracts and vehicle fleet.
Residential and commercial moving companies; typically $150K–$2M; asset sales where truck fleet, storage arrangements and customer-review reputation drive value.
Third-party logistics and warehousing operators; typically $500K–$8M, frequently bundling or leasing significant industrial real estate; share sales common where customer contracts and WSIB history are valuable to preserve.
MTO-approved driving instruction businesses; typically $50K–$500K; asset sales where the school's MTO-approval status and instructor roster are the core assets.
Taxi plates, limousine and shuttle fleets; typically $75K–$2M — in municipalities where taxi plates remain a separate transferable asset, plate valuation and municipal transfer approval can dominate the deal.
Trades more like income real estate than an operating business — cap-rate/NOI and financing diligence dominate over goodwill valuation; typically $1M–$10M+, usually bundling the real property itself.
†Typical patterns across Canadian deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
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. |
An owner-operator courier, moving company or driving school selling to a hands-on buyer, with straightforward vehicle and licensing checks.
Start my file →A trucking company with an established CVOR history, a warehousing operation with several customer contracts, or a self-storage facility sale bundling significant real property.
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.
Mainly to preserve the CVOR carrier profile and safety history built up under the existing corporate entity, along with customer contracts that are often tied to that same entity. Regulators scrutinize ownership and officer changes on a carrier profile closely, which is the central reason this family leans toward share structures more than many other trades-adjacent businesses.
Generally, yes. A self-storage sale typically looks more like a commercial real-estate transaction, focused on title, zoning, financing and environmental diligence, than an operating-business sale, since the value usually comes from the property's income performance rather than day-to-day operations.
Not automatically. These kinds of municipal or provincial approvals are typically tied to the specific licensed operator and generally require their own re-application or approval process before the buyer can operate under them, separate from the underlying purchase agreement.
A PPSA lien search is standard practice across this family, since financing on trucks, delivery vehicles and material-handling equipment is common. Confirming ownership status alongside the vehicle or equipment's condition is a routine, expected part of diligence.
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