Selling your business in Calgary
The Calgary area has about 65,000 business locations with employees, and 95 in 100 of them have fewer than 50 people. Plenty of those owners are thinking about what comes next: about 22 in 100 Alberta businesses plan to sell or hand over ownership within ten years.
How we sell a Calgary business
This page covers what selling looks like here. What the City and the province ask of you, what your buyer has to do after closing, and how we help owners navigate the sale of their business.
A free sale plan first
See what your business could sell for, and exactly how we would sell it, before you commit to anything.
A confidential package built from your own numbers
Buyers see the business clearly. Your name stays private.
Registered buyers see it seven days before the public
Every new business goes to our Buyers Market Club first.
Nobody learns who you are until they sign our confidentiality agreement
You make every decision
Which offer, what terms, and when.
No upfront fees to sell
Our fee is paid at closing.
What you hand over when you sell in Calgary
Your City business licence
It does not go to the buyer. You close yours, and the buyer applies for a new one. That holds even when the buyer purchases your company's shares. Licence fees you've paid are not refunded or transferred.
City of Calgary, Manage your business
WCB Alberta clearance
Before your buyer pays any of the price, you hand over a certificate from WCB saying it has no claim against you. If you don't, your buyer can owe WCB what you owed, up to the value of what they bought. Ask for it early.
Workers' Compensation Act, section 132
Sales tax
Alberta has no provincial sales tax. GST still applies, but when you sell the whole business, a joint election with the buyer on Form GST44 can mean no GST is payable on the sale. Your accountant tells you whether yours qualifies.
Canada Revenue Agency, Form GST44
Your staff
Their years of service carry over to the new owner when the business is sold.
Alberta Employment Standards Code, section 5
Your lease or building
In an asset sale, the lease or land part of the deal is handled by a licensed commercial realtor. If a building changes hands, Alberta Land Titles charges $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 of the land's value to register the transfer.
Real Estate Council of Alberta; Alberta Land Titles fee schedule
A liquor licence or food permit
A liquor licence can't be sold. AGLC has to approve before 5% or more of the business changes hands. A food permit doesn't transfer either: the buyer applies for their own.
AGLC Liquor Licensee Handbook; Alberta Food Regulation, section 10
What your buyer does after closing
Your buyer has a few City steps of their own. Plan the closing date around them, so your customers never find a closed door.
Location approval
About 10 business days
Every Calgary business needs it before opening. Same kind of business, new owner, no renovations: a tenancy change with no fee, about 10 business days.
A new City licence
About 2 days on average
In 2026, $330 for a shop, contractor or restaurant (between $285 and $440 for most types). The City issues commercial licences in about 2 days on average.
A fire inspection
Up to 5 business days
For most commercial spaces. An inspector may take up to 5 business days to visit.
A police security clearance
About two weeks
The buyer now gets it on their own. It takes about two weeks.
What is a Calgary business worth?
Buyers price a small business as a multiple of its yearly earnings, and the multiple depends on the industry. Our free estimate shows yours as a range, built from published sale data for your industry (North American sales data). See the ranges by industry on our free business valuation page, or read how many times profit a business is worth.
Calgary owners we help
We sell all types of businesses, in every industry. In Calgary that often means professional services, construction and the trades, health care, shops, restaurants and transport, the city's largest groups of employers. For the province wide picture, read our guide on how to sell a business in Alberta.
- Professional services
- Construction and the trades
- Health care
- Shops
- Restaurants
- Transport
Questions Calgary owners ask
Do I need a licence to sell my own business in Alberta?
Does my City of Calgary business licence go to the buyer?
Who sees my business?
What does it cost to sell with you?
Do you only work in Calgary?
See what your business could sell for, and exactly how we would sell it, with a free sale plan.
Or call us at 778-760-8081. A Senior Deal Advisor calls you next.
Sources
- Business locations with employees, Calgary census metropolitan area, June 2026: Statistics Canada, table 33-10-1176-01 (65,650 locations; 62,558 with 1 to 49 employees).
- Plans to sell or transfer within ten years, Alberta, third quarter 2026: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, table 33-10-1196-01 (21.7%).
- Licence rules: City of Calgary, "Manage your business" and the 2026 Business Licence Fee Schedule; approval times for July to September 2026: City of Calgary, licensing approval timelines.
- WCB clearance: Workers' Compensation Act, RSA 2000 c W-15, section 132 (current to 18 December 2025).
- Staff: Employment Standards Code, RSA 2000 c E-9, section 5.
- Leases and land: Real Estate Council of Alberta, Business Brokerage bulletin; Alberta Land Titles fee schedule effective 1 October 2026.
- Liquor and food: AGLC Liquor Licensee Handbook, section 2.5; Alberta Food Regulation, AR 31/2006, section 10. The AGLC handbook section was issued in November 2022.
- GST: Canada Revenue Agency, Form GST44.
Succession Market publishes this page from Kelowna, British Columbia. It is general information, not tax or legal advice for a particular sale. Updated .