Business Brokerage Survey: Top 5 Reasons Decline in Deals in 2009
Posted by Kipp Krukowski on Mon, Aug 09, 2010 @ 08:30 AM
In a recent survey conducted by the Business Brokerage Press, business brokers were polled to get an understanding of several current issues in the industry. One of the most important topics for any business brokerage firm is the number of completed transactions. Not surprising, as in most industries, 2009 was a down year for the business brokerage community. One of the questions in the survey asked business brokers their opinion of why 2009 experienced a decline in the number of deals, sales, dollar volume, etc. Prior to answering the question, the survey said that the state of the economy was a given so the report was looking for a more detailed answer. The fifth most common response was that buyers were unwilling to pay the seller’s desired price for the company. The fourth reason was that sellers wanted to wait until the economy recovered to get a higher sales price for their business. The third highest response was that sellers were unwilling to accept a price based on their lower profit, volume, and performance. The second highest response was that buyers were unwilling or frightened to purchase a business during 2009. Finally, the number one reason that business brokers felt that last year was a down year was because of the lack of financing. This survey conducted annually, is the largest survey of its kind specifically for business brokers in the business brokerage industry. Respondents came from 42 U.S. states as well as nine other countries.