Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Quincy, MA Business

Every quarter, BizBuySell.com publishes business valuation data, and we now have their latest Quincy, Massachusetts small business valuation trend data for Third Quarter 2009.

Median Ask Prices for Quincy, MA Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for companies in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$199,900
Q2 2007
$189,000
Q3 2007
$217,250
Q4 2007
$219,000
Q1 2008
$212,500
Q2 2008
$200,000
Q3 2008
$199,000
Q4 2008
$199,000
Q1 2009
$199,000
Q2 2009
$199,000
Q3 2009
$199,900

As you can see from the chart above, Quincy business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $199,900.

That compares to a median ask price of $199,000 in Q3 2008. With median asking prices for Quincy, MA businesses for sale trending up, we can conclude that only businesses that know they can command a premium price are willing to sell in this tough market.

Revenue Multiples for Quincy, MA Businesses

Here is how median revenue multiples are changing in the Quincy area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.81
Q2 2007
0.77
Q3 2007
0.83
Q4 2007
0.82
Q1 2008
0.84
Q2 2008
0.81
Q3 2008
0.82
Q4 2008
0.80
Q1 2009
0.79
Q2 2009
0.79
Q3 2009
0.75

In the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area, small companies will usually sell for 0.75 times the selling company's revenues. As shown in the chart above, that was the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this area of the country.

In other words, a business that has revenues of $150,000 might list for $112,018. Keep in mind that this is in fact an average for revenue multiples in Quincy and surrounding communities. Some businesses will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Quincy business-for-sale listings was $392,500 in Q3 2009.

To put this in perspective, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.82 and the median revenue for listed Quincy businesses was $355,000.

Cash Flow Multiples for Quincy, MA Businesses

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

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
2.85
Q2 2007
2.74
Q3 2007
2.80
Q4 2007
2.86
Q1 2008
2.97
Q2 2008
2.92
Q3 2008
2.95
Q4 2008
2.95
Q1 2009
2.99
Q2 2009
2.87
Q3 2009
2.82

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

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area was 2.82.

So, a business with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $310,412. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. Most businesses will not conform to industry- or area averages.

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Quincy, BizBuySell.com reports that the median cash flow for Quincy area businesses was $100,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Quincy cash flow multiples averaged 2.95 and the median cash flow was $98,102.

Number of Quincy Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 536 listings in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Quincy, but they are nearby and so are probably representative of Quincy business valuations.

One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Quincy spanned 659 listings. The downward trend in the number of Quincy business-for-sale listings is indicative of the current down economy.

Can I Sell My Quincy, MA Business Now?

You should consider selling your business if you think a buyer will be willing to pay a price that you are happy with. The economy should not be the major determining factor. In fact, some countercyclical companies sell for more in a down economy than they do in an up economy. This tip for selling a business was provided by Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for Quincy, MA Businesses

If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to determine how much a business is worth, we recommend 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 a nationally-recognized economic report that tracks trends in the business-for-sale marketplace. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.

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