Dru recently caught up with Tasmanian Business Broker Kat Little to discuss the ins and outs of selling a hospitality business. As a former owner and manager of a number of hospitality business, Kat has fantastic insights for prospective sellers. Some key takeaways from the conversation were:

Sale Price Maximisation – Start Planning Early

The hospitality businesses that sell the fastest and for the highest price have owners who have been planning to sell for a while instead of owners who wake up one day and decide it’s time for a change. With this foresight, owners in combination with a business broker, accountant or other advisor are able to fix anything that may hinder the business from selling when it goes to market. Some of these key considerations that may need to be addressed are below.

Important Consideration – Location Security

Oftentimes a cafe or restaurants success can be attributed to its strategic location. For this reason, buyers like to assess the security of a location before they invest. They’re looking to see a freehold or a long lease. An extra detail in a lease is a demolition clause. Buyers will be hesitant to invest if their capital may be at risk due to a demolition clause.

Sale Price Maximisation – Management Team & Staff

Investors in hospitality businesses don’t want to be working 60 hours a week. The ideal situation is that there’s a management team in place and they don’t need to work much at all. This is very rare though for cafes and restaurants and buyers get this, so what they look for is a business with an experienced team in place who will make the transition to the new owner easy.

Have you got a hospitality business that you are thinking of selling? Book in a complementary consultation with one of our experts today.