Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Alexandria, VA Business

BizBuySell.com has just released its Alexandria, Virginia business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.

Median Ask Prices for Alexandria, VA Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$250,000
Q2 2007
$250,000
Q3 2007
$250,000
Q4 2007
$250,000
Q1 2008
$250,000
Q2 2008
$250,000
Q3 2008
$250,000
Q4 2008
$250,000
Q1 2009
$250,000
Q2 2009
$250,000
Q3 2009
$250,000

As shown in the table, Alexandria business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $250,000.

That compares to a median ask price of $250,000 in Q3 2008. In spite of the difficult economy, Alexandria, VA business valuations appear to be relatively stable.

Revenue Multiples for Alexandria, VA Businesses

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

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.75
Q2 2007
0.77
Q3 2007
0.75
Q4 2007
0.76
Q1 2008
0.72
Q2 2008
0.70
Q3 2008
0.71
Q4 2008
0.75
Q1 2009
0.75
Q2 2009
0.74
Q3 2009
0.74

In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, small businesses will usually sell for 0.74 times the selling company's revenues. The data from BizBuySell.com indicates that is the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this part of the country.

In other words, a firm with revenues of $150,000 might list for $110,487. Remember, however, that this is in fact an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Alexandria business-for-sale listings was $450,000 in Q3 2009.

In terms of trending year over year, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.71 and the median revenue for listed Alexandria businesses was $438,000.

Cash Flow Multiples for Alexandria, VA Businesses

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

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
3.19
Q2 2007
3.15
Q3 2007
3.14
Q4 2007
3.12
Q1 2008
3.13
Q2 2008
3.02
Q3 2008
2.98
Q4 2008
3.08
Q1 2009
3.04
Q2 2009
2.95
Q3 2009
3.03

As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another popular technique to value a business.

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area was 3.03.

So, a business with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $333,542. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. Most businesses will not conform to industry- or area averages.

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Alexandria, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Alexandria area businesses was $100,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Alexandria cash flow multiples averaged 2.98 and the median cash flow was $100,000.

Number of Alexandria Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 747 listings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Alexandria, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of Alexandria business valuations.

One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Alexandria spanned 1013 listings. In a market where you would think fewer business owners would be selling, it's a bit surprising to see more Alexandria business-for-sale listings.

Should I Sell My Alexandria, VA Business Now?

If you want to sell a business now, odds are you can sell now. You may even be able to get a premium acquisition price from a buyer. It all depends on how well you execute. Plenty of deals are getting done, all the time regardless of macro factors. This good selling-a-business tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for Alexandria, VA Businesses

If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to appraise the value of a specific business, we recommend the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. Based on your specific criteria, you can modify the company dataset that creates business valuation estimates. Access to the tool is very reasonable -- costing less than $100.

BizBuySell.com's Quarterly Reports

The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic report that tracks trends in the business-for-sale marketplace. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.

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