In most business sales the seller engages the broker and the seller pays, out of the proceeds at completion, which is why it rarely feels like writing a cheque. That is the general shape and there are three situations where it differs, one of which regularly surprises sellers: a fee that becomes due on money the seller has not yet received. Knowing which of the three applies to your engagement is a matter of reading the contract rather than of custom.
The normal case: seller pays at completion
The engagement is between the seller and the broker, the fee is contingent on a completed sale, and it is settled out of the proceeds by the solicitor handling completion. Sellers often never see the money arrive and leave; it is netted off. That is convenient and it is also why the fee can feel less real than it is when the engagement is being signed.
Buy-side engagements, and both-sides arrangements
A buyer can engage their own broker or search adviser, and then the buyer pays for their own representation. Arrangements where one intermediary is paid by both sides also exist and carry an obvious question about whose interest is being represented. Neither is wrong, and both are things a seller should know about before assuming who the person across the table is working for.
The case that catches sellers: deferred consideration
If part of the price is paid later, or depends on the business performing afterwards, the fee may still fall due at completion on the whole amount. That means paying a fee on money that has not arrived and might never. It is a term in the contract rather than a rule, it is negotiable, and it is worth finding before terms are agreed rather than at completion.
Questions people ask about who pays business broker fee
Can the buyer be asked to pay the broker?
It happens in some markets and it changes the economics of the price rather than removing the cost. What matters more is knowing who each intermediary is engaged by and paid by.
Is the fee paid if the deal collapses?
The commission generally is not, since it is contingent on completion. Retainers and cost recovery frequently are, which is the distinction to check in your own agreement.
Who pays if there are two brokers?
That is a matter for the contracts involved, and it is a question for your solicitor before you sign anything with a second intermediary.