Regional guide · Gold Coast
Business broker, Gold Coast
Tony Pope works from Gumdale in the Brisbane City Council area, which does not adjoin the Gold Coast, so nothing on this page rests on being around the corner. Preparing a business and researching its buyers works the same way at any distance, and what follows is what the ABS, the City of Gold Coast and the Queensland Government publish about selling here, from Yatala and Coomera through Southport and Broadbeach to Coolangatta.
Every figure on this page is sourced and dated. Where a figure is not published for this region, the page says so. Last updated 15 September 2026.
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What is different about selling a business on the Gold Coast?
The Gold Coast is the densest business market in Queensland. There were 83,266 actively trading businesses at 30 June 2025, 15.9 per cent of the state total, and 118.6 businesses per 1,000 residents at 30 June 2024 against 62.6 in Moreton Bay. So the buyer pool is deep. Two things then decide your settlement: seasonality in the accounts, and a trade waste approval that does not transfer.
What Gold Coast actually runs on
| Industry division | Businesses | Share of the base | Against Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public administration and safety | 272 | 0.3% | 1.68 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 894 | 1.1% | 1.38 |
| Arts and recreation services | 1,437 | 1.8% | 1.27 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 11,832 | 14.6% | 1.25 |
| Financial and insurance services | 4,245 | 5.3% | 1.25 |
| Wholesale trade | 2,671 | 3.3% | 1.18 |
| Retail trade | 5,093 | 6.3% | 1.09 |
| Construction | 14,920 | 18.5% | 1.08 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 10,802 | 13.4% | 1.08 |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,230 | 4.0% | 1.03 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 5,389 | 6.7% | 0.87 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 655 | 0.8% | 0.10 |
Counts are for the City of Gold Coast local government area at 30 June 2024, from ABS Data by Region drawing on Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, July 2021 to June 2025, released 26 August 2025; the index compares the Gold Coast share of businesses with the Queensland share across 509,275 businesses, ABS perturbs small cells so the divisions sum to 80,795 against a published total of 80,787, and this is a count of businesses on the register, not a count of businesses that were sold.
Where the businesses actually are
The precincts that hold the business base, and the industries that carry them.
Where the businesses actually are on the Gold Coast, 1,714 words, on its own page.
Local knowledge
What I know about this market that a data table does not carry
What sells well on the Gold Coast
Businesses with contracted or recurring revenue rather than one off jobs. A team that runs the day to day without the owner pricing every quote. Financials that reconcile to the tax returns without a long explanation. Gold Coast buyers, particularly the interstate ones, are comparing your business against options in Sydney and Melbourne, so the presentation has to hold up against that standard.
The sectors I know best here
Construction and building through the Coomera and Pimpama growth corridor, where the QBCC licence structure decides whether a deal can complete at all. Earthmoving, plant hire and civil contracting. Transport and logistics running out of Yatala and Stapylton. E-commerce, retail and fulfilment operations. Window furnishings, blinds, shutters and interiors across a market with high residential turnover. Trades and home services in every direction.
Lease exposure carries more value here than owners expect
Hospitality, retail and health businesses on the Gold Coast frequently hold a large part of their value in a lease. A short remaining term with no option is the single most common deal problem in this market, because a buyer funding a purchase over five years wants the premises secure for at least that long. Negotiating a renewal before you list is one of the cheapest pieces of value protection available.
Seasonality and how buyers read it
Tourism and hospitality trade in a pattern, and buyers read the shoulder months more carefully than the peak. Revenue by month across three years, with the pattern explained, removes uncertainty. Evidence that the business trades profitably through the quiet period rather than merely surviving it is worth real money.
Where this sits
Gold Coast is part of South East Queensland, one of nine Queensland regions covered. See all of Queensland, or read how a business is actually priced.
Questions people ask
3 of the 19 answered in full on the questions page for this topic.
Does my Gold Coast trade waste approval pass to the buyer?
No. The City of Gold Coast states that if you change property ownership or lease a business establishment, you will have to reapply for a new approval. The approval is issued to the operator at the premises, so it runs with neither the business nor the land.
How do I show seasonality in a hospitality profit and loss here?
Month by month, over two years, with the drivers named. Accommodation and food services carries 63,243 employee jobs on the Gold Coast, 11.8 per cent of every employee job in the council area against 9.4 per cent for Queensland in 2021-22, an index of 1.26. Add arts and recreation at 16,722 jobs and other services at 18,151, and 98,116 employee jobs, 18.3 per cent of the total, sit in divisions whose demand moves with the visitor calendar.
Is the Gold Coast really a hospitality region, or is that a myth?
Both, and the distinction is worth getting right. By business count, accommodation and food services was 3,230 businesses at 30 June 2024, 4.0 per cent of the base against 3.9 per cent for Queensland, an index of 1.03. That is the state average, and it is the number that gets misread.
Questions owners in Gold Coast ask, all 19 of them.
Go deeper
The long form, where it belongs
The full detail is on the pages below, each on its own page.
Check it yourself12 primary sources
Primary sources, none of them affiliated with me and none of them endorsing this site. Where anything here differs from an official source, the official source is right.
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.
Find out what your Gold Coast business is worth
Thirty minutes, on the phone or in person, at a time that suits you including evenings. You will get a straight read on where the business sits today and what would move the number. It costs nothing, there is no obligation, and nobody finds out you asked.