Buy Restaurant

Restaurant and food-service acquisitions – almost always a business and a lease, not a property purchase.

Almost Always a Business and a Lease, Not a Property

Restaurant transactions differ from most other real estate categories on this site in one important way: you’re rarely buying the building. Most restaurants operate from leased premises, so “buying a restaurant” usually means acquiring the operating business – equipment, staff, recipes and brand, existing supplier relationships – plus an assignment of the lease, rather than a property transfer. That changes the due diligence focus: lease terms and license transferability matter as much as, or more than, anything you’d check when buying a building outright.

Albania For Business Sh.p.k. supports restaurant and food-service acquisitions – structuring the deal, coordinating due diligence across the lease, licensing and equipment, and managing the transaction through to completion.

RESTAURANT ACQUISITION SUPPORT

From 1,000 EUR
fixed fee

PACKAGE OF RESTAURANT ACQUISITION SUPPORT INCLUDES:

Business vs. lease-and-equipment purchase structuring advice
Full due diligence – lease terms, applicable licences and registrations, equipment ownership, employment obligations and outstanding liabilities
Review and coordination of any alcohol-related, excise or local authorisation requirements, where applicable
Food-business licensing, registration and hygiene-sanitary compliance review
Financial due diligence – revenue, existing supplier and lease contracts
Staff transfer and employment law coordination
Lease assignment coordination and contract review
Registration and license transfer completion

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Fixed fee for a standard single-location restaurant acquisition with a straightforward lease and licensing position. Larger multi-location deals, complex franchise arrangements, or acquisitions involving significant staff transfer are scoped and quoted individually.

Buying the Business vs. Taking Over the Lease

	Empty Premises	Operating Business
What you get	A vacant leased space, fitted or unfitted	Equipment, staff, brand, recipes, existing customer base
Licensing	The new operator must obtain or complete the food-business licences, registrations and other authorisations applicable to the specific activity and premises.	Existing licenses may transfer or need re-registration
Liabilities inherited	Generally none beyond the lease itself	Depends on the acquisition structure. In a share purchase, the company retains its existing liabilities and contracts; in an asset or business transfer, the liabilities and obligations transferring to the buyer must be assessed individually.
Typical use case	Starting your own new concept from scratch	Continuing an established restaurant with minimal disruption

An operating business can mean revenue from day one, but it also means inheriting whatever history – good and bad – comes with it. Neither route is automatically better; it depends on what you’re trying to build.

Licensing You’ll Likely Need

If alcoholic beverages are served, the operator must comply with the applicable tax, excise, food-service and local requirements. Any additional authorisation depends on the specific activity.
The restaurant must comply with the applicable food-business registration or licensing requirements and hygiene-sanitary and food-safety rules.
Any municipal authorisation required for the specific use of the premises or activity, where applicable.
Separate permits for outdoor seating or terraces, if applicable to your location.

What We Check Before You Buy

Lease assignment terms and remaining term – how much runway you actually have, and under what conditions.
Existing license validity and whether it genuinely transfers with the business or needs a fresh application in your name.
Equipment ownership – confirming kitchen and fit-out equipment claimed as included is actually owned outright, not leased or financed by the seller.
Existing supplier contracts and any exclusivity or minimum-purchase commitments.
Staff entitlements and any outstanding liabilities.
Financial records – revenue, margins, and the basis for any goodwill valuation being asked.

Restaurant Acquisition, Step by Step

Structuring assessment – business/lease takeover vs. starting fresh in empty premises.
Property & business search – matching opportunities to your brief.
Due diligence – lease, licensing, equipment, employment and financial review.
Negotiation – price and deal terms, including goodwill valuation, supported on your behalf.
Lease assignment, contract & license transfer – the deal is formalised and licenses transferred or reapplied for.
Handover – equipment, staff and operational handover coordinated.

What We Need From You

Whether you’re looking for an operating business or empty premises to build your own concept.
Your budget, preferred location(s) and cuisine/concept.
Whether the purchase is personal or through your Albanian company.
Whether you plan to serve alcohol, which affects licensing scope.
Your timeline and whether you can travel for site visits or need remote coordination.

Fee Schedule – Additional & Ongoing Services

Beyond the fixed package above, the following services are priced individually. Your adviser confirms an exact quotation once your structure, nationality and banking preference are known.

Service	Indicative Fee
Restaurant acquisition support (as above)	From €1,000 fixed fee
Alcohol-related regulatory assessment and authorisation support, where applicable	from €400
Food-business licensing and hygiene-sanitary compliance support	from €200
Equipment valuation / ownership verification	from €200
Employment/staff transfer coordination (beyond standard scope)	quoted individually
Lease assignment negotiation support	from €200
Notary & registration official fees	billed at cost, set by the notary/registry

⚠ Practical note

Two details are worth confirming before you agree a price, not after: whether the alcohol license and health permits actually transfer with the business or need a fresh application in your name, and whether the kitchen equipment included in the sale is genuinely owned by the seller outright rather than leased or still being financed. Both are common points where a deal that looked straightforward turns out to need more work – or a lower price – than first assumed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Almost always the business, if it’s operating – equipment, staff, brand and existing licenses, alongside an assignment of the lease. If you’re taking over empty premises instead, you’re mainly acquiring the lease and starting the business fresh.

The applicable requirements depend on the restaurant’s activities and may include tax, excise and local obligations. Existing authorisations must be reviewed individually when the operator changes.

If you’re acquiring the operating business, existing employment relationships and entitlements generally transfer and need careful review as part of due diligence. If you’re starting fresh in empty premises, you’re typically hiring your own team.

Yes. Restaurant operations are subject to Albania’s applicable food-business registration or licensing framework and hygiene and food-safety requirements.

Sometimes, but always worth verifying – we check whether equipment claimed as included is actually owned outright by the seller, rather than leased or still being financed, since that materially affects what you’re actually getting.

Generally yes, if you’re not tied to a franchise or brand agreement that restricts this. We review any such agreements as part of due diligence so you know what flexibility you’ll actually have after completion.

Typically faster than a hotel acquisition, given the smaller scale, but still meaningfully longer than a straightforward apartment purchase due to lease assignment, licensing and equipment checks. We give a case-specific estimate once we understand the deal.

Much of the due diligence and negotiation can be handled remotely, though an in-person visit to assess the premises, equipment and location is usually worthwhile before completing the purchase.