top of page
Frequently asked questions
Education
A. Assuming you have had a good look at some general information on sites like this, the next step is to ask a broker to do an appraisal of your business. There is typically no cost to this. The appraisal should inform you about what the broker thinks the market will realistically pay for your business, the costs of doing so, how they will market the business and how long it might take. You should then be in a more informed position to make a decision about selling your business. You may choose not to sell immediately which is no issue. Often the appraisal highlights some things to change or improve. If you did want to then sell, the brokers is there to walk you through all the steps that follow.
A. There are a number of sources in Australia. The first and obvious one is an anonymous online ad. The Brokerage may have subscribers to active searches or names from similar previous sales. Importantly, they can also do proactive searches to make appropriate potential buyers aware of your business being for sale. Not everyone is actively looking online at every new business that comes up for sale. Your Broker may need to wake people up!
A. The first thing any decent broker should do is a sign an NDA with you so your company information is protected. This is between you and the brokerage so they can do the appraisal after reviewing your financials.
If you later list, then there is typically a gradual stepped process:
1. Potential buyers should sign an NDA before they receive an IM. The IM will have your basic financials, company names, what you do, where you are etc.
2. Your Broker will then typically speak with the potential buyer to qualify their interest. If they look like a potential buyer they will give them access to a financials folder.
3. The financials folder has basic reports like Profit and Loss. Balance Sheets, ATO reports, lease and similar. There should not be reports with staff names, suppliers or clients. Such information is still confidential.
4. If we then get "Offer and Acceptance", we move to what we call Due Diligence. Even now we may hold back some information if the buyer is a competitor for example. Such information may only be released after we are under an irrevocable contract which is just before settlement.
That all said, people can lie or get a friend to make a query which may lead to the IM being sent to them. If you do not want people to know about your sale, then best to work with your broker on how to best minimise the chances of word leaking out. It does not hurt to workshop a scenario of what to say if someone walks into your office and says "I hear the business is for sale?". Have something ready.
A. This is the time to talk to your accountant as there are tax implications for you. It does not typically affect your Broker or the sale but they just need to know before they start selling.
A Share sale is when the buyer buys all or an agreed % of the shares of the business. The history of the business goes with the shares which is why some buyers prefer an asset sale. A great analogy is buying shares on the ASX but the buyer is buying all the shares.
An Asset sale is when you keep your business shares. The buyer gets all the assets such as name, websites, staff, clients and so on but it is now trading in a new entity. This is often cleaner for the buyer as no history comes across.
Talk to your Accountant first.
A. Yes but only as long as they are registered to sell in your state. Business Brokers often fall under the Real Estate legislation in terms of legal responsibilities so is is state based. It is often the case that Brokers may not necessarily be based in the state the business is being sold in. Particularly when the potential buyer may come from out of state and it is a larger business.
That all said if you are selling a small business, given all your potential buyers are local then your Broker should be local if only for logistic reasons.
A. As of 30 June 2025, there were 2,729,648 actively trading businesses in Australia. (http://Australia.At)
At any given time in Australia there are over 12,000 businesses for sale. Unfortunately there are only two possible exits for a business and they are either sold or wound up. So on purely a numbers basis, the reality is that most businesses will not sell. Many end up being wound up and the assets sold off.
Successful medium to large businesses typically have an easier time selling. But even then they need to be profitable and presented properly. There are few easy sales or Unicorn businesses out there. This is why you need a Broker if you want to increase your odds of a sale.
bottom of page