Regional guide · Moreton Bay
Business broker, Moreton Bay
Tony Pope works from Gumdale in the Brisbane City Council area, so he is not from Moreton Bay and will not claim to be. This page sets out what the ABS, City of Moreton Bay, Unitywater and the Queensland Government publish about selling a business here, from Caboolture, Morayfield and Burpengary through Narangba, Brendale, Strathpine, Petrie and North Lakes out to Redcliffe and Bribie Island.
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 in the City of Moreton Bay?
The City of Moreton Bay is a construction economy. Construction was 7,472 businesses at 30 June 2024, 22.8 per cent of the local base against 17.1 per cent for Queensland, an index of 1.34. So your likely buyer already works in the industry. One approval decides your settlement date: Unitywater issues trade waste permits here, not the council, and its permits are not transferable.
What Moreton Bay actually runs on
| Industry division | Businesses | Share of the base | Against Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 7,472 | 22.8% | 1.34 |
| Manufacturing | 1,514 | 4.6% | 1.29 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 125 | 0.4% | 1.27 |
| Other services | 2,213 | 6.8% | 1.21 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 2,966 | 9.1% | 1.18 |
| Administrative and support services | 1,674 | 5.1% | 1.11 |
| Retail trade | 2,021 | 6.2% | 1.07 |
| Wholesale trade | 947 | 2.9% | 1.03 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 4,023 | 12.3% | 0.99 |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,033 | 3.2% | 0.81 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 2,873 | 8.8% | 0.75 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 884 | 2.7% | 0.33 |
Counts are for the City of Moreton Bay 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 Moreton Bay share of businesses with the Queensland share across 509,275 businesses, ABS perturbs small cells so the divisions sum to 32,703 against a published total of 32,719, and this is a count of businesses on the register, not a count of businesses that were sold.
Where the businesses actually are
The suburbs and precincts that hold the business base, and the industries that carry them.
Where the businesses actually are in Moreton Bay, 1,657 words, on its own page.
Local knowledge
What I know about this market that a data table does not carry
The Moreton Bay business base
Brendale and Narangba carry the industrial weight. Manufacturing, engineering, transport depots, equipment and trade supply. North Lakes and Mango Hill are services and retail heavy off the back of two decades of residential growth. Caboolture and the northern end have a strong trades, civil and agricultural services presence. Redcliffe and the peninsula have their own retail character. That is a wide spread, and it means what your business is worth genuinely depends on which part of the region you are in and what you do.
Growth corridor businesses and buyer interest
Trade services, civil, earthmoving and building businesses grown alongside the residential expansion are attracting real buyer interest. The combination of ongoing population growth, the infrastructure pipeline and a shortage of good operators means buyers are actively looking. If you are in one of those sectors with contracted work and a team that functions without you, you are in a stronger position than you might think.
Window furnishings, interiors and home services
Moreton Bay has a substantial home improvement and interiors base, blinds, shutters, curtains, flooring and related trades, built on new housing. These businesses can sell very well but the preparation is specific. Buyers look hard at whether revenue depends on a handful of builder relationships, how installation capacity is managed, supplier arrangements and whether the lead generation model still works without the owner driving it. This is a sector I have run from the inside, not just sold.
How I work across the region
Everything starts with a conversation. Phone, video or a coffee somewhere quiet, whatever suits you. The first chat is thirty minutes and costs nothing.
Brendale carries the region
The Brendale and Lawnton industrial area is where much of the region's manufacturing, trade supply, engineering and distribution actually sits. Owner occupied sheds are common, which means most conversations here start with whether the property is in the deal. Settle that with your accountant before anything else, because buyers vary enormously in whether they want to own premises or lease them, and the answer changes which buyers you approach.
North Lakes and the services economy
North Lakes, Mango Hill and Griffin have added households at pace, and the businesses that followed are the ones that sell readily: allied health, childcare, home services, food and fitness. Buyers can see the demographics for themselves. What they focus on instead is whether the business has systems, whether it retains staff, and whether it survives the owner taking six weeks off.
The peninsula is its own market
Redcliffe, Scarborough and Margate trade differently to the rest of the region. Hospitality, marine services, tourism and allied health, with real seasonality in some of it. If your business has a busy season and a quiet one, present monthly figures rather than annual totals. Buyers are far more comfortable with a pattern they can see than with a single number they have to take on trust.
Bribie, Woorim and coastal seasonality
Businesses on and around the island trade to a rhythm set by school holidays and weather. That is entirely normal and buyers accept it, provided you show it rather than smooth it away. Present the seasonal shape honestly, explain how you manage cash and staffing through the quiet months, and demonstrate the business does not depend on one exceptional summer. Owners who present seasonality confidently do considerably better than owners who try to hide it.
Questions people ask
3 of the 19 answered in full on the questions page for this topic.
Does my trade waste permit pass to the buyer?
No, and the counterparty is not the council. Unitywater is the water and sewerage service provider for the City of Moreton Bay, alongside the Sunshine Coast and Noosa council areas, and its published position is that there are no refunds or part refunds on any permit issued and that permits are not transferable.
Can I transfer my food business licence when I sell?
Yes. City of Moreton Bay issues food business licences under the Food Act 2006 (Qld), and the change of ownership fee recorded for 2026-27 is $533.00. Application and assessment is $704.00 and the annual licence for a category 1 premises is $856.00, or $1,325.00 for a category 1 large premises.
I run a factory at Narangba. Which approvals do I need to map before I sell?
Three, and they behave differently. An environmental authority for a prescribed environmentally relevant activity transfers for $143.10 in 2026-27, and City of Moreton Bay administers it under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld). An authority for a resource activity cannot be transferred at all.
Questions owners in Moreton Bay 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
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Find out what your Moreton Bay 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.