Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My St. Petersburg, FL Business

BizBuySell.com has just released its St. Petersburg, Florida business-for-sale statistics.

Median Ask Prices for St. Petersburg, FL Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$195,000
Q2 2007
$189,000
Q3 2007
$200,000
Q4 2007
$200,000
Q1 2008
$225,000
Q2 2008
$225,000
Q3 2008
$212,250
Q4 2008
$205,000
Q1 2009
$199,000
Q2 2009
$195,000
Q3 2009
$189,000

As you can see from the chart above, St. Petersburg business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $189,000.

That compares to a median ask price of $212,250 in Q3 2008. The lower median asking price in last quarter suggests that St. Petersburg, FL sellers are dropping their asking prices in light of market conditions. This is making it possible for more business-for-sale transactions to close.

Revenue Multiples for St. Petersburg, FL Businesses

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

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.87
Q2 2007
0.89
Q3 2007
0.91
Q4 2007
0.91
Q1 2008
0.98
Q2 2008
0.96
Q3 2008
0.92
Q4 2008
0.89
Q1 2009
0.94
Q2 2009
0.96
Q3 2009
0.93

In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area, small companies will usually sell for 0.93 times the selling company's revenues. As shown in the chart above, that was the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this area of the country.

In other words, a firm with revenues of $150,000 might list for $139,225. Remember, however, that this is just an average for revenue multiples in St. Petersburg and surrounding communities. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its St. Petersburg business-for-sale listings was $317,843 in Q3 2009.

To put this in perspective, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.92 and the median revenue for listed St. Petersburg businesses was $350,000.

Cash Flow Multiples for St. Petersburg, FL Businesses

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

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
2.95
Q2 2007
2.99
Q3 2007
3.31
Q4 2007
3.34
Q1 2008
3.45
Q2 2008
3.39
Q3 2008
3.28
Q4 2008
3.33
Q1 2009
3.45
Q2 2009
3.50
Q3 2009
3.40

As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another common way to value a business.

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area was 3.40.

So, a business with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $374,013. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. Most businesses will not conform to industry- or area averages.

In case you were wondering what typical cash flows are for a business in St. Petersburg, BizBuySell.com found that the median cash flow for St. Petersburg area businesses was $77,611 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, St. Petersburg cash flow multiples averaged 3.28 and the median cash flow was $86,025.

Number of St. Petersburg Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 829 listings in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of St. Petersburg, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of St. Petersburg business valuations.

In Q3 2008, just one year ago, there were 998 St. Petersburg listings in the BizBuySell.com dataset. As a result of the recession, fewer St. Petersburg business owners are selling because they hope to weather the storm and sell after the economy turns around.

Should I Sell My St. Petersburg, FL Business Now?

Any business can be sold at any time. For example, a recent business-for-sale listing with flat sales over the past two years and slightly fluctuating cash flows was able to get five offers. With the right team helping you to sell a business, you can without a doubt arrive at an attractive business exit for the owner. This helpful business selling tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for St. Petersburg, FL 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 published quarterly. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.

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