Buying a Business

Buying a Business

Our views are that you should firstly, carefully look at a business and decide whether you like it or not (you must like it). You should NOT buy a business simply because of good returns for your investment (unless you will not be actively involved yourself).

If you want to buy it, you should then make a written offer to purchase it.

Making an offer

Making an offer is not a terrible thing and if done correctly (with our help), will protect your! If the business is healthy you should buy it and not be afraid. There are no perfect businesses!

Offers made through us will always be subject to
1 ) The business producing the promised Net Incomes and turnovers (a due diligence). If the business (seller) fails to prove the promised results within certain limits you will have the opportunity to either withdraw your offer, pursue the purchase or negotiate a proportionally reduced price.
2) A New Lease agreement. This is extremely important! No lease, no deal
3) Approval by the Franchisor (if the business is a franchise)
4) Finance arrangements

Due Diligence

Once your offer is accepted by the Seller, you will be given the opportunity to verify the businesses financial information to prove to yourself that the business is sound and healthy.

"The difference between what you already have, and dream to have, is what we would like to help you get!!"

"Money spent on gaining knowledge and understanding, is not money spent, but money invested".

Pretoria Business Brokers endeavor to sell good investments. Buying a quality business is probably the best investment anyone can presently make and it is the best way to secure a good future for you and your family. When investing in a business, we recommend that you should try to earn at least 40% interest on your money per annum. This means you should recover your full investment from NET profits (after all business expenses have been paid) within 30 months. You will notice that we show months needed to recover your investment for every individual business.

What you need to consider when looking at this calculation, is whether the price include stock. If it does, the stock should be deducted to do a proper valuation of the business . The more secure and well known a business (many well known franchises), the higher the number of months will be. Location is also a very important determining factor. The old rule about location, location, location stands as good for businesses as it does for houses and other properties. The little café around the corner may sell for 12 months profit while a very nice Spar shop which is perfectly located could sell for up to 40 months. Price is based on supply and demand-and NOT on what the seller think it is worth. Ultimately the fair value for a business is based on the price a buyer is prepared to pay for it.

We spend a lot of our time specializing in Food Franchises but occasionally we do get good businesses in that is not food based. Please study the list pf businesses listed on our website. If the business name is underlined, you may click on it to view more information and in many cases, also photographs of the business. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us.

To list and advertise your business, please click on "Sell your Business here" above.

We are presently expanding our business and would like to employ business brokers, and open more branches around the country. Are you honest and reliable with a keen interest in business and keen to earn a unlimited income? Please contact us to discuss your opportunity of a lifetime.

We are also looking for Spotters/Harvesters all over the Country. Spotters are people who are willing to visit various Business owners and discuss the possibilities of selling their businesses, with them. You will then be required to send their contact details through to us. My office will then make contact with such Sellers. When the Business is sold, your Bank account will be credited with commission from us.

All good Businesses, with honest books and marketed at a reasonable price will sell-no matter where they are located!! No previous Business Marketing experience is necessary.

To receive regular Email updates from us, please complete our guest book below

Please email Louis Kearney on louis-k@mweb.co.za to give me feedback or report errors.

To list and advertise your business, please click on "Sell your business here" above and send us your details

We can assist you to get finance from different Banks. The bigger the business and the better it is known, the easier it will be to arrange finance for you. If it is a good business, with excellent books and profits, we can help you get the needed finance.

Many buyers often have unrealistic expectations when it comes to financing. They believe that they only need a small deposit and that the banks will finance them for most of the money to buy a business. The truth is that you will probably not get finance approval from a Bank unless you have at least 50% of the funds available in cash or in the form solid security. You may then get approval if you have a good track record in the specific type of business you are keen to buy. If you worked in a certain type of business for a few years, it should be quite easy to get finance. If you have no experience in a specific industry, the bank will require a much higher deposit-or security from you.

We do recommend that you try to establish the banks requirements before trying to buy a business.

While raising a second bond against your home or a specific property may be in some cases be the risky route to take, it is certainly the cheapest way the finance your new business. If you plan to raise a second bond against your house or a property, we recommend that you arrange this in advance. Often business opportunities will come and go very quickly and you should be in a position to make quick decisions and put money on the table if you want to secure those opportunities when they do come along.

Important Notice
We receive many many calls from buyers wishing to buy businesses while they do not have nearly enough money to afford them. When making an offer to buy a business, the Seller would always want to know whether you do actually have the money to buy his/her business. Anyone can claim to own a fortune. Unfortunately most people believe that the Banks will give them all the money they need-The answer is simple!

The Bank WILL NOT GIVE YOU A LOAN unless you already have at least 40% of the purchase price in cash.
UNLESS the 2nd hand value of the Business's assets are worth more than, or if your personal balance sheet reflects a positive value well above the 60% value of the loan you wish to apply for, you may be approved.

If the Business you wish to purchase is a Franchise, the Franchisor will from past experience know that you CANNOT survive in the business unless you have a large portion of the purchase price in cash. When people make big loans, their repayments are simply to high and they will NOT succeed. For this reason the Franchisor will NOT approve the Franchisee unless your own contributions are large enough.

If you have properties or businesses that have large Security value, we would strongly suggest that you apply for a second bond BEFORE making an offer to purchase a business. This way the money will be seen as an OWN CONTRIBUTION and not as a loan.

Ratings: We rate all businesses according to value for money, neatness, location, feet, net income, expansion possibilities, and a few other criteria. Five stars (

) is not easily given and is the best scoring possible. Such businesses are often be sold before it reaches our website. We also rate businesses with the number of months needed at the present NET income, to recover the full investment.

Return in Months: This is the number of months it should take you to get all the money you paid for the business, back into your own pocket based on the Net return shown above for each business.

Annual Interest: Based on the Net profit, this is the Annual interest you can expect to earn on your investment, in the form of profit or income when buying a specific business.

Contact Numbers - Please read the paragraphs below before making an appointment with us. You may call any of the people listed next to any of the businesses above. In most cases they are the owners of the Businesses concerned and they are simply advertising their businesses on our site. They would love to receive your call. If however you need assistance in making an offer, you may call me Louis on the number listed below.

We do try our best to sell the RIGHT type of business to everyone we deal with.
These are some of the important questions we would like to get answers for before we would like to attempt to help you properly.

(When sending us an email please try to assist us by answering as many of these questions possible in your email to us)!

Where do you live?

What price class are you looking at?

How much money do you have available (unencumbered cash)?

Do you need to make a loan from a Bank to purchase a business?

Do you qualify for a second bond against your house or another property (normally cheapest finance available)?

What are your income expectations -(ROI) Return on Investment expectations?

Your planned involvement in a new business (Investor/passive/actively involved)?
Your experiences (previous businesses owned or managed)?
Your risk profile-are you looking for a High Risk/High return or a Low Risk/Low Return type of Business?

Email of recommendation received with thanks from a satisfied customer:

" I have posted an advertisement for the selling of my business on the Pretoria Business Brokers website and have experienced immediate response. The calls were from good quality potential buyers and the third caller became the new owner of my business.

I also consulted with Mr. Kearney on business sales matters and his advice was professional and worth every cent invested in it. I would gladly recommend the services of Pretoria Business Brokers." Carl Ahlers, Experilab, Pretoria, South Africa

We sell businesses for clients all over South Africa and not just in Pretoria!!

Type of business wanted	Where	Price
Computer / Internet Business	Pretoria/East	R150 000+
Liquor Store	South Coast - Kwa Zulu Natal	All
Profitable business wanted	Pretoria	R350 000+
Good income	Gauteng	Net profit above R50 000 p.m.
Wimpy's	All Areas/Pretoria/Midrand	R800 000+
SPAR Shops	Countrywide	R1.5 m +
SPUR	South Africa	R1.5 m +
Franchises food and others	Pretoria/Midrand	R500 000+

Mabalingwe	R9,800	Timeshare week 49 for sale (around 10 December) 4 sleeper
Game Reserve Exclusive	R55,000,000	Northern Province (CD available on request)