Licensed Queensland business broker
One licensed broker, start to finish, for Queensland business owners.
Licence 4963575, checkable in thirty seconds, and every fee published before you sign. If you want to know what your business is worth, that is free, it is in writing, and nobody finds out you asked. No junior, no call centre, nothing handed off. You deal with me from the first phone call through to settlement.
Get my free appraisal, in writingCall 0431 124 128
No obligation. Nothing is published. Nobody is contacted.
Check it yourself
What it is worth, in short
A market appraisal is free, confidential and carries no obligation. You get a written view of what your business is likely to fetch, what a buyer will scrutinise and what is holding the value back.
If you are twelve months to three years out, that is the useful time to ask, because preparation is the part that can still change the number.
What is my business worth, the long answer sets out the earnings bases, the multiples, a worked example and the nineteen questions owners ask about value.
Is this you
Six positions this page is written for
- Thinking about it
- Selling or succession, now or in the years ahead.
- Unsure of the number
- You do not know what the business is genuinely worth today.
- Being approached
- A buyer has come to you and you are not sure how to respond.
- Wanting more for it
- You want to know what would make the business worth more before you sell.
- No obvious successor
- You are ready to step back and there is nobody inside to hand it to.
- Timing it properly
- You are planning ahead and want to pick your moment rather than have it picked for you.
Before you sign with anyone
Six things to check with any broker
Ask these of me and of everyone else you speak to. My answers are below. If a firm cannot answer one of them in a sentence, that is worth knowing before you sign a six month exclusive agency.
Who is the broker, by name?
Tony Pope. One person, from the first phone call to settlement. No junior, no call centre, nothing handed off. If a firm will not name the person who will actually run your sale, that is the answer to the question.
What do they charge, in figures?
Two fees. A campaign fee set by expected price and credited in full at settlement, and a tiered success fee that steps down as your price rises. On a $2 million sale it works out at 6% overall, plus GST. Every figure, with a worked example.
If your business does not sell, the campaign fee is not refunded. Nothing in that limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, including the guarantee that services are provided with due care and skill. That is why the appraisal comes first and costs nothing. If your business is not saleable yet, I tell you before you spend anything, and I tell you what would change that.
What experience sits behind the licence?
Twenty plus years operating inside these industries, appraising plant, trucks and transport fleets at volume, and a business my wife and I built and sold ourselves. The about page sets all of it out.
Can you check the licence yourself?
Queensland Office of Fair Trading licence 4963575. Search it free on the Fair Trading Licensing Register. Every register you need is listed, including the ones that would show a problem.
Do they know your sector, specifically?
Nine published guides, each on one kind of business, each naming the Act, the regulator and the register behind its claims. Not a list of industries on a page. Read one and judge it.
What happens if the answer is no?
You get told. If your business is not ready, or now is not the moment, I will say so and tell you what to work on. The appraisal is free either way, and preparation is where the money is.
Confidentiality
Nobody finds out you are thinking of selling
Your staff, your customers, your suppliers and your competitors never learn from me that your business is for sale, and the process is built so they do not learn it at all unless you choose to tell them.
Your business is marketed blind. Buyers sign a confidentiality agreement and are qualified for financial capacity before they learn who you are. Sensitive information is released last, not first. Even the first conversation is private, and if you decide not to sell, that is confidential too.
How your information is handled, and how confidentiality works
What your appraisal covers
Not a generic online estimate. An assessment of your business through the eyes of a serious buyer, using a defensible methodology and real comparable sales.
- What it is likely worth. Based on current buyer demand, comparable sales and the numbers buyers actually focus on.
- What buyers will scrutinise. The risks and dependencies they will probe, so you find out here rather than at the table.
- What is holding the value back. And which of it can be fixed before you go to market.
- What to prepare. The documentation and systems that lift buyer confidence and deal certainty.
- Whether now is the right time. A straight answer, including if that answer is no.
Sectors
Industries I know from the inside
The industries I have run, worked in or spent years alongside. I sell businesses in every other sector too, using the same process and the same buyer research.
Earthmoving, plant and civilIndustrial auction and remarketing. Machine hours, condition, and the difference.
E-commerce and retailThe online side of the toy business we built and sold. One business, both channels.
Transport and logisticsTwenty years around trucks, trailers and fleets, and what a financier looks at.
Construction and buildingThe QBCC licence question comes before the price question, every single time.
Mining services and supplyPrequalification and safety record price straight into the multiple here.
Window furnishings and interiorsRan one. Custom manufacture, measure and install, and where the ceiling sits.
Toy, gift and hobby retailCo-founded one, built it across store and online, and sold it.
Turf farmsMy father-in-law built a turf farm and sold it. Few brokers have been near one.
WHS consultancy and trainingCertificate IV in Training and Assessment, and safety systems built from scratch.Why talk sooner
The market is moving, and the prepared owner wins
Several forces are lining up at once in Queensland, and every one of them rewards understanding your position early.
- The ownership handover
- Australia is entering the largest transfer of business ownership in its history, with a generation of owners heading for the exit over the next decade. When the wave peaks, supply rises and buyers get choosier. Early movers sell into demand rather than into a crowd.
- Buyers are active now
- Private buyers, trade acquirers and investors are competing for well run Queensland businesses across trades, transport, online retail and services. Strong buyer appetite is a window, not a permanent condition.
- Queensland's decade
- Queensland is delivering a $7.1 billion venue infrastructure program for the 2032 Games, covering 17 new and upgraded venues from Cairns to Coolangatta under the 2032 Delivery Plan released in March 2025. Add population growth and sustained state investment and buyers are seeking exposure to construction, civil, transport and the businesses that supply them. It is a real tailwind for some sectors and it does nothing for a business with problems of its own.
- Preparation is worth real money
- Preparing over twelve to twenty four months rather than selling as you stand is where I see the most value move. Preparation takes time, which is why the best exits start with a conversation well before the sale.
No commitment
Talk now. Sell when you are ready.
A conversation today does not commit you to anything. You are probably not selling this year. Twelve months to three years out is the usual point to make contact, and it is the useful one, because there is still time to change the answer.
What happens after you call
I call you personally
A confidential conversation directly with me. No assistant, no call centre.
A straight conversation
Your business, your timing, your goals, and what buyers look for in your sector. About thirty minutes.
A proper appraisal
I review your financials the way a serious buyer would, to reach a genuine market value. No guesses on a phone call.
You decide
Free, no obligation. Sell now, prepare for a year or two, or file it away. Entirely your call.
Where I work
All of Queensland. South East Queensland and the Darling Downs in person as a matter of course. Everywhere else an appraisal starts by phone and video, with a site visit where the business warrants it.
Questions owners ask
What does a broker actually do that I cannot do myself?
Finds buyers you would not reach on your own, markets the business without exposing you to staff, customers or competitors, qualifies buyers so you are not wasting time on people who cannot complete, negotiates at arm's length, and manages the process through due diligence to settlement. The buyer who pays the most is often one the seller had never heard of before the campaign.
What does it cost?
The appraisal is free. If you list, there are two fees and that is the whole list: a fixed campaign fee credited in full against the success fee at settlement, and a tiered success fee whose rate falls as the price rises, so the bigger the sale, the lower the overall percentage. The full schedule, with a worked example. All figures are plus GST, added where it applies at the rate applying at the time. Part 7 of your appointment states the commission including GST, so the figure you sign is the higher one.
How is the price worked out?
Price is normally a multiple of normalised earnings, and the multiple depends on your sector, your size, and how much of the business walks out the door with you. Owner dependence, customer concentration, recurring revenue, plant condition and clean financials all move it.
Will anyone find out I am thinking of selling?
No. The first conversation is private. If you go to market, your business is advertised without being identifiable, every enquiry signs a confidentiality agreement and is qualified for financial capacity before receiving anything that identifies you.
How long does it take?
Six to nine months from appraisal to settlement is typical for a well prepared business, of which three to six is the market campaign and the contract. Preparation before the appraisal is additional. Anyone promising substantially faster is either lucky or not being straight with you.
What if I am not selling for another two years?
That is the most useful time to call. Knowing what a buyer will question gives you time to change the answer, and preparing deliberately rather than selling as you stand is where I see the most value move.
Ask what it is worth
Free, in writing, and nobody finds out you asked. Tell me the trade and the suburb and I will do the rest.
Nobody finds out you are selling. This goes to me only, into my own database in Sydney. I will not contact your accountant, your landlord, your bank or your staff, ever, unless you ask me to.
If you would rather not put anything in writing yet, ring 0431 124 128. Prefer to pick a time yourself? Book a time in my diary.
Start with the number. Decide about the rest later.
A written appraisal costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
If the answer is "not yet", you will be told that, and told what to work on.
Call 1300 173 183 Book a free call, no obligation
Tony Pope, licensed business broker, Gumdale, Queensland. OFT licence 4963575. Member, Australian Institute of Business Brokers. Independent.