Buying a Business

Cost to Buy a Business in Aurora

If you want to buy a business in Aurora, Colorado, you've come to the right place to get statistics and trend data on Aurora, Colorado business-for-sale transactions.

Fortunately, the team at BizBuySell.com has made some data available on what it costs to buy a business in Aurora.

BizBuySell.com is the biggest business-for-sale listings site on the Internet, offering over 50,000 businesses for sale at any given time. The vast majority of business brokers in the country put their business listings on BizBuySell.com. They also have many FSBO (for sale by owner) business-for-sale listings.

If you are looking to buy a business in Colorado, check out the BizBuySell Colorado listings to see the latest business-for-sale listings for Aurora and other Colorado municipalities.

Business Valuations in Aurora, CO

According to BizBuySell.com, the median asking price for an Aurora business-for-sale listing in Q4 2008, the quarter when they most recently released their data, was $250,000.

That was based on 352 listings in the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Aurora, but they are close by and so are probably representative of Aurora business valuations.

Remember that this is the median asking price for a business. If you are in the market to buy a company, you may be able to buy an Aurora business for much less. Having said that, some Aurora businesses may cost much more.

Importantly, this is the asking price for an Aurora business. Typically, when a business owner lists a business for sale, they start with an asking price that is higher than the ultimate sale price. The sale-price-to-asking-price ratios depend on deal specifics but typically might be between 0.85 and 0.90. As an example, a company listed for $275,000 might sell for between $233,750 and $247,500.

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area for the last 8 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$285,000
Q2 2007
$241,950
Q3 2007
$228,375
Q4 2007
$250,000
Q1 2008
$250,000
Q2 2008
$250,000
Q3 2008
$250,000
Q4 2008
$250,000

Revenue Multiples In Aurora, CO

In the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area, businesses will typically sell for 0.79 times the selling company's revenues. This was the mean revenue multiple for Q4 2008 in this area of the country.

In other words, a business that has revenues of $200,000 might list for $158,077. Keep in mind that this is strictly an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some businesses will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

Here is how median revenue multiples are trending in the Aurora area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.68
Q2 2007
0.65
Q3 2007
0.66
Q4 2007
0.68
Q1 2008
0.88
Q2 2008
0.85
Q3 2008
0.82
Q4 2008
0.79

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its business-for-sale listings was $426,000 in Q4 2008.

Cash Flow Multiples In Aurora, CO

Another popular way to value a business is through cash flow multiples.

For Q4 2008, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Denver-Aurora, CO metro area was 3.17.

So, a business with cash flows of $120,000 might have an asking price of $380,001. That's if the business fits the area average. Cash flow multiples can vary considerably based on many factors.

The table below shows how cash flow multiples are trending in the Aurora area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
2.99
Q2 2007
2.90
Q3 2007
3.00
Q4 2007
3.09
Q1 2008
3.29
Q2 2008
3.22
Q3 2008
3.14
Q4 2008
3.17

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Aurora, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Aurora area businesses was $93,628 in Q4 2008.

Things to Consider When Buying a Business in Aurora, CO

If you are looking to buy a business, be sure to contact business intermediaries who represent selling businesses within your targeted market. They will notify you of available companies that meet your criteria and qualifications. Most business brokers or intermediaries work for the seller and are paid by the seller. That means you can enjoy the luxury of their services at no cost. This helpful advice was provided by Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Chicagoland Sunbelt, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for Aurora, CO Businesses

If you have a specific business in mind and want to look at comparables in the area, we recommend the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. You can refine the dataset that generates business valuations to meet your specific needs, and access to the tool is very affordable -- less than $100.

More Information on BizBuySell.com's Quarterly Reports

The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. If you find this data interesting, be sure to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.

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