Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Raleigh, NC Business

We just received the latest Raleigh, North Carolina business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.

Median Ask Prices for Raleigh, NC Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$195,000
Q2 2007
$197,500
Q3 2007
$225,000
Q4 2007
$240,000
Q1 2008
$250,000
Q2 2008
$241,500
Q3 2008
$245,000
Q4 2008
$248,500
Q1 2009
$242,500
Q2 2009
$249,000
Q3 2009
$222,000

As shown in the table, Raleigh business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $222,000.

That compares to a median ask price of $245,000 in Q3 2008. Given that Raleigh, NC median business asking prices appear to be dropping, it suggests that selling Raleigh businesses may be lowering their prices to make their businesses more attractive to buyers.

Revenue Multiples for Raleigh, NC Businesses

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

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.66
Q2 2007
0.80
Q3 2007
0.76
Q4 2007
0.79
Q1 2008
0.77
Q2 2008
0.74
Q3 2008
0.73
Q4 2008
0.76
Q1 2009
0.80
Q2 2009
0.77
Q3 2009
0.78

In the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area, small companies will usually sell for 0.78 times the selling company's revenues. As the table above indicates, this was the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this part of the country.

In other words, a business that has revenues of $150,000 might list for $117,482. Keep in mind that this is only 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 Raleigh business-for-sale listings was $399,582 in Q3 2009.

To give this some context, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.73 and the median revenue for listed Raleigh businesses was $444,833.

Cash Flow Multiples for Raleigh, NC Businesses

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

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
3.21
Q2 2007
3.27
Q3 2007
3.02
Q4 2007
3.20
Q1 2008
3.37
Q2 2008
3.28
Q3 2008
3.14
Q4 2008
3.16
Q1 2009
3.33
Q2 2009
3.44
Q3 2009
3.32

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

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area was 3.32.

So, a company with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $365,677. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. The actual distribution on cash flow multiples for a given set of businesses can be quite wide-ranging.

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Raleigh, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Raleigh area businesses was $86,284 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Raleigh cash flow multiples averaged 3.14 and the median cash flow was $90,000.

Number of Raleigh Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 160 listings in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area. Many of the businesses in the dataset are outside of Raleigh, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of Raleigh business valuations.

One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Raleigh spanned 139 listings. In a market where you would think fewer business owners would be selling, it's a bit surprising to see more Raleigh business-for-sale listings.

Can I Sell My Raleigh, NC Business Now?

You should consider selling your business if you think a buyer will be willing to pay a price that you are happy with. The economy should not be the major determining factor. In fact, some countercyclical companies sell for more in a down economy than they do in an up economy. This tip for selling a business was provided by Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for Raleigh, NC Businesses

If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to appraise the value of a specific business, we suggest you try 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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