BizExchange Index

The quarterly BizExchange Index of Australian Private Business Values is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to know what businesses are worth.   Segmented by industry and organisation size it provides an unprecedented insight into Australia's $trillion hidden market.

You can subscribe to the BizExchange Index free of charge.  If you are a Registered User or Subscriber of BizExchange you will automatically receive a copy of the current BizExchange Index.  If you would like to receive a back copy, these are available to subscribers by download from the MyAccount area.

The Index, which covers the March 08 Quarter, reveals the decline in values is particularly apparent for smaller businesses where the volume of businesses listed for sale has increased markedly. Recent credit tightening can be expected to increase the number of stressed sales.

Key Findings of the Index are:

1. The market is developing a definite pattern revealing an increase in listing volumes and a fall in prices.

Values:            -14% quarterly change, -23% annual change

Volumes:         +10% quarterly change,+178% annual change

2. The majority of the growth in the number of businesses for sale is at the smaller end of the market.  The number of businesses for sale in the middle market ($5 million plus) has declined in recent months.

3. The valuation of small businesses varies widely by industry and also in the range of values.

4. The overall market trend of declining values continues with reductions in values across all industries and business sizes.

5. The market continues to be spread on expected values, with an increasing number of people uncertain about the future direction of business values.

6. The value of businesses continues to be aligned with turnover across all industry sectors, although the relative value of businesses with a turnover of half to one million dollars has declined.

7. The number of businesses advertised for sale for less than a year’s earnings continues to grow, representing nearly 10% of all listings for which the data was available.  This is up from less than 1% fifteen months ago. 

BizExchange has been monitoring Australian Private Business Values since March 2006, and publishing the BizExchange Index since September 2006.

•  A copy of the most recent BizExchange Index is available by subscribing to BizExchange