Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Virginia Beach, VA Business

We just received the latest Virginia Beach, Virginia business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.

Median Ask Prices for Virginia Beach, VA Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$275,000
Q2 2007
$250,000
Q3 2007
$255,000
Q4 2007
$247,500
Q1 2008
$225,000
Q2 2008
$229,500
Q3 2008
$239,250
Q4 2008
$258,750
Q1 2009
$280,000
Q2 2009
$250,000
Q3 2009
$227,000

As you can see from the chart above, Virginia Beach business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $227,000.

That compares to a median ask price of $239,250 in Q3 2008. The lower median asking price in last quarter suggests that Virginia Beach, VA sellers are dropping their asking prices in light of market conditions. This is making it possible for more business-for-sale transactions to close.

Revenue Multiples for Virginia Beach, VA Businesses

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

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.78
Q2 2007
0.78
Q3 2007
0.88
Q4 2007
0.79
Q1 2008
0.74
Q2 2008
0.74
Q3 2008
0.75
Q4 2008
0.76
Q1 2009
0.77
Q2 2009
0.79
Q3 2009
0.78

In the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro area, small companies will typically sell for 0.78 times the selling company's revenues. The data from BizBuySell.com indicates that is 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 $116,460. Keep in mind 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 Virginia Beach business-for-sale listings was $377,500 in Q3 2009.

In terms of trending year over year, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.75 and the median revenue for listed Virginia Beach businesses was $392,500.

Cash Flow Multiples for Virginia Beach, VA Businesses

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

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
3.46
Q2 2007
3.44
Q3 2007
3.51
Q4 2007
3.30
Q1 2008
3.23
Q2 2008
3.15
Q3 2008
3.07
Q4 2008
3.20
Q1 2009
3.33
Q2 2009
3.42
Q3 2009
3.66

As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another popular technique to value a business.

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro area was 3.66.

So, a company with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $402,179. That calculation is dependent on the business selling for the area's average multiple. In practice, cash flow multiples can vary considerably from one business type to another.

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Virginia Beach, BizBuySell.com found that the median cash flow for Virginia Beach area businesses was $83,456 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Virginia Beach cash flow multiples averaged 3.07 and the median cash flow was $90,554.

Number of Virginia Beach Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 206 listings in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Virginia Beach, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of Virginia Beach business valuations.

In Q3 2008, just one year ago, there were 228 Virginia Beach listings in the BizBuySell.com dataset. As a result of the recession, fewer Virginia Beach business owners are selling because they hope to weather the storm and sell after the economy turns around.

Can I Sell My Virginia Beach, VA 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 Virginia Beach, VA Businesses

If you are considering buying a business or selling a business and would like to look at completed transaction sale price comparables in the area, 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 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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