Prices for a ready-made GmbH
An Austrian or German GmbH that is already on the register, already funded and already known to the tax office — waiting for an owner rather than for a clerk.
If your plans point towards the German-speaking market, the GmbH is the form your counterparties there expect. This page sets out what such a company brings with it, how the handover is organised, what falls under the fixed price and which costs are passed through separately.
- Entered in the commercial register
- Share capital contributed and confirmed
- Tax number issued, VAT number where granted
- Handover usually within a few days
Why a GmbH at all
A British company can trade in Austria or Germany. The question is not whether it may, but how it is received once it does.
- How you are readThree letters after a company name tell a German-speaking customer, landlord or public buyer that they are dealing with a domestic legal form under a law they know. A foreign abbreviation, however respectable, invites a question you then have to answer.
- BanksOpening a business account for a company incorporated abroad is slower and, at some institutions, simply declined. A company on the domestic register with a domestic address and a domestic tax number goes through the ordinary process.
- Visible capitalThe minimum share capital of an Austrian GmbH has stood at EUR 10,000 since 2024; companies formed before then were usually set up with EUR 35,000. Whatever the figure, it has been paid in and it is on the public record — which is exactly what a supplier granting credit wants to see.
- Public procurement and licencesWhere a tender or a regulated trade requires a domestic entity, a branch of a foreign company is often accepted only with additional paperwork. A GmbH removes that discussion before it starts.
None of this makes the GmbH the right answer in every case. If you only need an invoicing entity for occasional business on the continent, a Ltd with a branch will do it and will cost you less — see prices for shelf Ltds.
Four steps you do not have to take
Incorporating a GmbH from nothing takes two to four weeks, and most of that time is spent waiting for other people. Buying one removes four of those waits at once.
| Step | If you incorporate | If you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Notarial formation | Articles drawn and recorded before a notary, directors appointed | Done. One appointment remains, for the transfer of the shares to you |
| Capital | Raised, paid into a blocked account, confirmed by the bank | Contributed, evidenced, and still there — you see the statement |
| Registration | Filed with the registry court and then a wait of weeks | The company is on the register and can act from the day you sign |
| Tax number and VAT number | Applied for after registration; the VAT number takes longer again | The tax number is in place; the VAT number where it has already been granted |
The time you save is not the point in itself. The point is that between signature and the first invoice there is no period in which the company cannot yet act and you are exposed personally for what it does.
What is included
Every company we hold for sale comes with the following, and you see the evidence for each of them before you are asked to decide.
- a GmbH under Austrian or German law, entered in the commercial register
- share capital contributed and evidenced by a current bank statement
- tax number issued by the tax office
- VAT number, where it has already been granted
- a bank account, where one exists — this is stated for each company
- no trading activity of any kind since incorporation
- free of debt and free of anything inherited, warranted in the transfer agreement
- the complete file: register extract, articles of association, shareholders' list, evidence of capital
How the handover is organised
Selection
We go through your plans, the name you have in mind and where the company is to be based, and we set aside a company that fits.
Quotation and identity check
You receive a binding written quotation with a list of what we need from you. At the same time the identity check required under the money laundering rules is carried out.
Notarial transfer
Shares in an Austrian GmbH pass only by notarial deed, and the same form applies to amending the articles. Both are dealt with in a single appointment, which may be held remotely over a secure video link or by power of attorney.
Filings and handover
We file the change of name, registered office, management and objects with the registry court, make the beneficial ownership notification within the statutory period, and pass the complete file to you.
From the notarial deed onwards the shares are yours and the company can trade. The register entries follow behind and are made by us.
Price overview
The price has two parts, and they are treated differently for VAT. What each part is worth depends on the legal form, the amount of capital and whether the company comes with an account, so we quote it individually.
| Item | Amount | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price of the company | On request | Exempt from VAT |
| Takeover service — coordination, transfer, filings, identity check | On request | Plus 20 per cent Austrian VAT |
| The paid-up share capital | Reimbursed at its nominal amount | Not a charge — it stays in the company and becomes yours with it |
Quoted prices are indicative. What binds us is the written quotation you receive, which names both figures and lists the pass-through costs below with an estimate for each.
Costs outside the price
Official fees and the fees of third parties are charged on at what they actually come to. We do not mark them up, and you get the written breakdown before anything is signed.
| Notary's fees | For the deed of transfer and the amendment of the articles |
| Registry court fees | For entering the new name, office, management and objects |
| Certified translations | Where documents in English have to be produced to the register, or German documents to a body outside the country |
| Apostilles and legalisation | For documents issued abroad — a British passport copy or a certificate of good standing, for instance |
| Trade licence | Where the activity you have in mind requires one |
Capital duty on the acquisition of shares has not been levied in Austria since 2016.
Additional services
Ordered with the company or later, and priced case by case because the effort differs so much from one to the next.
| Change of company name | Availability check, shareholders' resolution, notarial deed, filing |
| Change of management | Removal of the existing managing director, appointment of yours, specimen signatures |
| Change of shareholders | Further transfers after the handover, updated shareholders' list |
| Registered office and business address | An address for service, post handling and forwarding |
| Beneficial ownership notification | Initial notification and the annual confirmation thereafter |
| Trade licence | Review, application, and where the trade is regulated the appointment of a qualified manager |
| Business account | Preparation of the application and attendance with you; the decision rests with the bank |
| Bookkeeping and annual accounts | Ongoing bookkeeping, payroll, annual accounts and the tax returns |
| Translations and certifications | Certified translations, notarial certification of signatures, apostilles |
Before you ask for a quotation
Look at what is in stock
Which companies are free right now, how old they are and how much capital each of them carries. The list is anonymised and updated as companies go.
Compare with a Ltd
Lower capital, no notary, quicker to move. If the German-speaking market is only part of the picture, it is worth putting the two side by side.
Questions we are asked about the price
Why is the purchase price not simply on the page?
Because it is not one figure. It moves with the legal form, with how much capital sits in the company, with whether an account comes with it and with how much has to be changed at the handover. Publishing a single number would mean publishing the wrong one for most enquiries.
Tell us what the company has to be able to do and we will put both figures, and an estimate of the pass-through costs, in writing — usually on the same working day.
Is the share capital part of the purchase price?
No, it is reimbursed separately at its nominal amount. Think of it less as a cost than as a transfer: the money is an asset of the company, it stays in the company, and once the shares are yours the money is behind your company rather than ours.
Which parts attract VAT?
The purchase price of the company itself is exempt. Our takeover service is a service like any other and carries Austrian VAT at 20 per cent. If your company is registered for VAT, that is input tax and you recover it in the ordinary way.
Do I have to travel to Austria?
Not necessarily. A notarial deed can be recorded remotely over a secure video connection, and it can also be done by a representative acting under a power of attorney that has been certified in the United Kingdom. We will tell you in advance which route suits your case and what identification you will need to have ready.
What will the company pay in tax?
Corporation tax in Austria is 23 per cent on taxable profit. How much of your profit is taxable there, and what is left to be dealt with at home, depends on where the work is actually carried out and on the double taxation agreement. That calculation belongs to an accountant, and we would rather introduce you to one than guess at it here.
Can I have a German GmbH instead of an Austrian one?
Yes. We hold ready-made companies in Germany as well, and the shape of the transaction is much the same: notarial deed, filing with the commercial register, notification of beneficial ownership. The capital requirement and the fee schedules differ, so the quotation for a German company is prepared separately. Ask us and you will have both to compare.
What if I want a company with a trading history?
Then you are looking at a dormant company rather than a ready-made one, and the price sits higher because the history has to be examined before we will offer it. Tax clearance, social insurance clearance, the filed accounts and a search of the insolvency records are all part of that. Say so in your enquiry and we will quote for that instead.
Ask for a quotation in writing
Two figures, a list of the pass-through costs and a realistic date for the handover — that is what comes back. If you would rather talk it through first, we call you at a time that suits you.
Telephone UK +44 114 6972907 IRL +353 12337845 AT +43 5524 22308 DE +49 69 96759363 CH +41 58 5105770
Figures on this page describe our services and the fees of others as they stand today; they are an orientation and not an offer, and they are neither legal nor tax advice. We do not give such advice. How a GmbH is taxed in your circumstances, and what your plans require of it under company law, is for a notary, a solicitor or an accountant whom you instruct directly. We are happy to suggest partners.