Moreton Bay at a glance

At a glance

The business base

There were 33,587 actively trading businesses in the City of Moreton Bay local government area at 30 June 2025, up 863 businesses (2.6 per cent) over 2024-25 from 32,724 at 30 June 2024. In the same ABS extract Ipswich grew 6.4 per cent, Logan 5.9 per cent and Brisbane 2.4 per cent, so this council area sits mid pack for growth in the south east. The area covers 2,041.4737 square kilometres and holds 6.4 per cent of every actively trading business in Queensland.

What is over represented

Construction, and nothing else comes close. There were 7,472 construction 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. That is almost one business in four, and 8.6 per cent of every construction business in the state. Transport, postal and warehousing follows at 1.18 on 2,966 businesses, and manufacturing at 1.29 on 1,514, which is unusual for an outer metropolitan growth council. Those three divisions together are 11,952 businesses, 36.5 per cent of the base, against 28.4 per cent for Queensland.

Where the businesses are

The industrial spine runs along the Bruce Highway and the North Coast railway line. Narangba Industrial Estate sits on the eastern side of Narangba off Boundary Road and Potassium Street, and Brendale carries light industrial, commercial and distribution uses on South Pine Road at the southern boundary. Caboolture is the regional centre of the northern half, Morayfield Road is the retail spine, and Strathpine Centre, Caboolture Square, Morayfield Shopping Centre and the North Lakes town centre are the four large retail anchors. Redcliffe Parade and Bongaree carry the hospitality trade. Burpengary East holds the North Harbour estate.

Who the buyers are

Trade buyers first, because the base is a trades base. A Narangba plumbing business or a Burpengary civil contractor does not have to be sold to an outsider. Above that, the pool thins quickly. At 30 June 2024, 58.2 per cent of businesses were non employing and only 862 in the whole council area employed 20 or more people. Only 2,265 businesses (6.9 per cent) turned over $2 million or more a year, and 56.6 per cent turned over under $200,000. Above about $2 million of turnover the buyer often comes from outside the region.

The local friction

City of Moreton Bay is not the water and sewerage service provider. Unitywater is, and its published position is that permits are not transferable and that there are no refunds or part refunds on any permit issued. So the seller cancels and the buyer applies fresh and pays a full annual permit fee. The approvals that do transfer sit with the council: a food business licence for $533.00, an environmental authority for a prescribed activity for $143.10 and a footpath dining or goods display permit for $174.50, all at 2026-27 fees.

What decides the price

Owner dependence first, because 58.2 per cent of the base is non employing and a documented management layer is genuinely scarce here. After that, which side of the Bruce Highway you trade on. At June 2025 the Moreton Bay South statistical area ran a participation rate of 76.4 per cent with 5.4 per cent unemployment, and Moreton Bay North ran 58.5 per cent participation with 3.9 per cent unemployment. For a construction adjacent business, a buyer weighs how much of your 2024 and 2025 revenue rests on a small number of large projects, because $2,375 million of non-residential building was approved here in calendar 2024 alone.