How do you buy a restaurant in France?
Buying has clear advantages: fewer works, a faster start, a sales history to convince the bank. It also has risks: a price that is too high, an unfavourable lease, worn-out equipment, a poor reputation to turn around.
This guide is part of our guide to opening a restaurant in France. It does not replace a lawyer or notary: get professional help for the deed of sale.
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What should you check before buying a restaurant?
Ask the seller for these documents, then have your accountant and lawyer read them.
The figures
- Balance sheets and profit and loss accounts for the last three years.
- Monthly sales, to see seasonality.
- Food cost and staff costs as a share of sales.
- Till reports, which can be compared with the accounts.
The commercial lease
- Remaining term and date of the next rent review.
- Rent and service charges, and who pays what (works, property tax).
- The use allowed by the lease: restaurant use must be included, with alcohol sales and smoke extraction if needed.
- Conditions for assigning the lease (landlord’s consent, guarantees required).
Licence and permits
- The type of licence (see the restaurant alcohol licence in France) and the declaration receipt.
- The terrace permit, if there is one: it depends on the town hall.
- The latest hygiene and safety inspections.
Premises and equipment
- A detailed inventory of the equipment included, with its condition.
- Maintenance and rental contracts (hood, dishwasher, coffee machine, till).
- Works to plan: compliance, kitchen, toilets, accessibility.
Staff
- The list of employees, their contracts, pay, length of service and holiday owed.
- Any ongoing dispute with an employee.
How do you assess the restaurant’s reputation?
The customer base is part of what you are buying. Its value can also be read online.
- Read the Google reviews from the last two years, not just the rating: do the same complaints keep coming back?
- See whether the owner replies to reviews, and how.
- Compare the rating and number of reviews with nearby restaurants (method in our guide to local competitor analysis).
- Check who controls the Google listing, the website and the social media accounts: they must be handed over on takeover day.
- Eat there over several services, without introducing yourself.
A poor reputation is not necessarily a deal-breaker: sometimes it is a chance to buy a good location for less. But it will take time and a plan to turn around.
What are the steps in selling a business in France?
- Letter of intent: you tell the seller you are interested and the price you have in mind, subject to checks.
- Checks: accounts, lease, licence, equipment, staff (see above).
- Preliminary agreement: it sets the price and date, with conditions (your loan being approved, the landlord’s consent, the licence transfer…).
- Informing employees: in companies with fewer than 50 employees, the seller must tell staff about the planned sale so they can make an offer. Since 27 July 2026, this must happen at least 1 month before the sale (it used to be 2 months).
- Funding: the bank lends on the basis of your business plan and the restaurant’s accounts.
- Deed of sale: signed with a lawyer or notary, who holds the price in escrow.
- Publication of the sale: the sale is published, notably in the BODACC (official gazette). According to the French tax authorities, the seller’s creditors then have ten days to object. During that time, the price stays frozen in escrow.
- Registration and payment of duties to the tax authorities.
- The licence: the transfer is declared at the town hall (in Paris, at the police prefecture) on form Cerfa 11542, at least 15 days beforehand, with your operating permit.
This timetable usually takes several months. Do not set an opening date that is too tight, and do not leave your current job before your funding is secured.
How much are registration duties on a business in France?
Buying a business in France is subject to registration duties. According to impots.gouv.fr, they are calculated on the sale price plus charges (or on the value of the business if higher), in brackets:
| Price bracket | Total rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €23,000 | 0% |
| €23,000 to €200,000 | 3% |
| Above €200,000 | 5% |
The amount cannot be less than €25.
Two worked examples
| Price of the business | Calculation | Duties |
|---|---|---|
| €150,000 | (150,000 − 23,000) × 3% | €3,810 |
| €250,000 | (200,000 − 23,000) × 3% + (250,000 − 200,000) × 5% | €7,810 |
Other costs to add to the price
- Lawyer or notary fees, and the accountant’s fees for the audit.
- Costs of publishing the sale.
- Stock taken over separately, often paid on top of the price of the business.
- The lease deposit and, if the landlord asks, new guarantees.
- Refurbishment or compliance works.
- Starting cash, as for a new opening (see restaurant startup costs).
What happens to the staff when you buy a restaurant?
When a business is sold in France, article L1224-1 of the Labour Code provides that employment contracts in force on the day of the sale continue with the new operator. In practice, you take over the existing team, with their length of service, pay and holiday owed.
- Ask for the staff register and each contract before signing.
- Check paid holiday earned but not taken: it will be your cost if the deed says nothing.
- Meet the team: a chef or waiter who knows the regulars is real value.
- Discuss with your lawyer how staff-related debts (wages, holiday) are split between seller and buyer.
On the seller’s side, the duty to inform employees before the sale is regulated: according to Service Public Entreprendre, if it is not met, employees can claim damages, capped at 0.5% of the sale price since 27 July 2026.
What should you do in the first weeks after the takeover?
- Have the restaurant’s Google listing, website domain and social media accounts transferred to you (see our guide to the Google Business Profile).
- Update the listing: hours, phone, photos, menu, a “new management” note if you change a lot.
- Reply to recent reviews, including bad ones, to show that things are changing.
- Change things gradually: keeping what regulars love avoids losing them in the first month.
- Tell regulars and the neighbourhood about the takeover: a poster in the window, a social media post, a word with neighbouring shops.
Next, our guide to running a restaurant covers the menu, the team, stock and profitability.
The restaurant owner’s guide
Open, run, grow: each stage has its full guide and detailed guides, with their reading time.
Full guide · 11 min · 13 detailed guides
- Restaurant business plan: a step-by-step template with a worked example 10 min
- Restaurant startup costs: what to budget for and how to fund it 7 min
- Restaurant market research: a step-by-step method with sheets to fill in 7 min
- Which legal structure for a restaurant in France? 8 min
- How to choose a restaurant name: the method and the checks 7 min
- Permits and formalities to open a restaurant in France, in order 8 min
- Restaurant alcohol licence in France: which one you need 8 min
- Restaurant VAT in France: which rate applies, with examples 8 min
- Restaurant terrace permits in France: the process and the rules 7 min
- Mandatory signs and notices for a restaurant in France 7 min
- Buying a restaurant in France: the checks, the steps and the costs 7 min
- How to promote a new business opening: a plan from 60 days before to 30 days after 11 min
- Restaurant website examples: 9 layouts for every kind of venue 8 min
Full guide · 11 min · 14 detailed guides
- Restaurant profitability: find your break-even point and improve it 9 min
- Food cost and menu pricing: how to price a dish 13 min
- Restaurant menu design: method, mandatory information and layout 8 min
- How to choose and negotiate your restaurant suppliers 8 min
- Restaurant inventory management: stock counts, rotation and ordering 7 min
- Reduce restaurant food waste: rules, measurement and practical steps 7 min
- Food hygiene and HACCP in a French restaurant: the rules and the daily routine 8 min
- Allergen matrix template for restaurants and cafés (UK and Ireland) 9 min
- How to hire restaurant staff in France: find, choose and keep the right person 9 min
- Restaurant staff scheduling: a simple rota that follows the rules 7 min
- Restaurant till and POS in France: rules, features and choice 8 min
- Restaurant customer loyalty: 12 ideas that bring guests back 7 min
- Booking cancellation policy: what to write and how to enforce it 11 min
- How to get more Google reviews for your restaurant 14 min
Full guide · 10 min · 11 detailed guides
- How to get more customers to your restaurant: find the cause, then fill the room 9 min
- How to increase your restaurant’s average spend without pushy selling 8 min
- The lunch set menu: build it to fill tables and pay 8 min
- How to make your restaurant stand out: find what makes it unique 8 min
- Restaurant marketing plan: the method and a 12-month template 8 min
- Restaurant takeaway and click and collect: how to set it up 8 min
- Extra revenue for your restaurant: 8 ideas and the rules to know 8 min
- Restaurant digital tools: where to start, and in what order 10 min
- AI for restaurants: what it really does for you 8 min
- Valentine’s Day restaurant ideas: menus, bookings and promotion 8 min
- Christmas marketing for shops and restaurants: the week-by-week plan 8 min
This guide for your trade
Go further
Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 28, 2026.
- impots.gouv.fr (France): sale of a business, registration duties
- BOFiP (France): BOI-REC-GAR-20-30-20-20, objections to the sale price of a business
- Service Public Entreprendre (France): sale of a business, informing employees
- French Labour Code, article L1224-1 (employment contracts continue)
- Service Public Entreprendre (France): restaurant licences and declaration