Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Durham, NC Business

Every quarter, BizBuySell.com publishes business valuation data, and we now have their latest Durham, North Carolina business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.

Median Ask Prices for Durham, NC Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses for sale in the Durham, NC metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$215,000
Q2 2007
$105,000
Q3 2007
$247,500
Q4 2007
$222,500
Q1 2008
$215,000
Q2 2008
$235,000
Q3 2008
$232,000
Q4 2008
$275,000
Q1 2009
$235,000
Q2 2009
$207,500
Q3 2009
$199,975

As you can see from the chart above, Durham business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $199,975.

That compares to a median ask price of $232,000 in Q3 2008. Given that Durham, NC median business asking prices appear to be dropping, it suggests that selling Durham businesses may be lowering their prices to make their businesses more attractive to buyers.

Revenue Multiples for Durham, NC Businesses

Here is how median revenue multiples are tracking in the Durham area, based on BizBuySell.com's economic data.

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.61
Q2 2007
0.61
Q3 2007
1.30
Q4 2007
0.83
Q1 2008
1.32
Q2 2008
1.16
Q3 2008
1.02
Q4 2008
1.14
Q1 2009
0.75
Q2 2009
0.78
Q3 2009
0.80

In the Durham, NC metro area, businesses will typically sell for 0.80 times the selling company's revenues. As the table above indicates, this was the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this metro area.

In other words, a business that has revenues of $150,000 might list for $119,339. Remember, however, that this is just an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Durham business-for-sale listings was $443,162 in Q3 2009.

To put this in perspective, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 1.02 and the median revenue for listed Durham businesses was $369,516.

Cash Flow Multiples for Durham, NC Businesses

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

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
3.26
Q2 2007
3.02
Q3 2007
3.34
Q4 2007
3.35
Q1 2008
4.69
Q2 2008
4.34
Q3 2008
3.93
Q4 2008
4.24
Q1 2009
3.57
Q2 2009
3.55
Q3 2009
3.90

As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another useful method to value a business.

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Durham, NC metro area was 3.90.

So, a firm with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $429,433. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. Cash flow multiples will usually vary considerably based on many factors.

In case you were wondering what typical cash flows are for a business in Durham, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Durham area businesses was $82,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Durham cash flow multiples averaged 3.93 and the median cash flow was $80,416.

Number of Durham Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 42 listings in the Durham, NC metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Durham, but they are close by and so are likely representative of Durham business valuations.

One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Durham spanned 36 listings. In a market where you would think fewer business owners would be selling, it's a bit surprising to see more Durham business-for-sale listings.

Should I Sell My Durham, NC 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 Durham, NC Businesses

If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to get an estimated company valuation, we suggest you try 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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