Selling a Business in WA

The quick answer, up front

To sell a business in WA, get 3 years of clean financials, work out an indicative value from normalised earnings, check that a buyer can fund that price, then appoint a licensed business broker or sell privately, market it under a confidentiality agreement, negotiate heads of agreement and a contract, and manage the lease assignment, settlement and handover. Settle your tax position before you list.

The step most sellers skip is the third one. Most buyers borrow, and as a guide lenders fund business purchases against a deposit of 20% to 50% of the price. A price a lender will not support leaves you selling to cash buyers only.

1. Get the numbers sale ready

Buyers, their accountants and their lenders will all ask for the last 3 years of profit and loss statements, balance sheets and tax returns, plus current year to date figures and BAS. Before anyone sees them, work out your normalised profit: add back your own wages and super, one off costs and personal expenses run through the business, then deduct a fair market wage for someone to do your job. That adjusted figure is what a buyer is really paying for, and it is the number every valuation and every lender starts from.

2. Get an indicative value

Most small and medium businesses are priced as a multiple of those adjusted earnings. The multiple moves with risk: recurring, transferable revenue and a business that runs without you earn a higher one, while owner dependence, a few big customers or a short lease pull it down. Our business valuation calculator gives you a first range in a few minutes. For a sale, back it up with comparable sales from a licensed broker or a formal valuation from an accountant or valuer.

For context, the average advertised asking price for an Australian business was $658,623 in December 2025, and businesses marked sold in that quarter averaged about $487,000 in advertised price (Bsale Australia Business Sales Market Report, Q4 2025; advertised figures, not settled prices).

3. Check a buyer can fund your price

This is where sales stall. A lender assesses whether the business's own cash flow can service the debt the buyer takes on, and goodwill, the value above the plant, stock and fit out, is the part lenders are most cautious about. If your price only works for a buyer with a large deposit, your market is small. If it works for a buyer with a standard deposit and a bank loan, it is much larger.

You can widen the pool by offering vendor finance on part of the price, by including the plant and equipment a lender can take security over, or by adjusting the price to what the earnings carry. Our guides to goodwill finance and vendor finance cover how lenders read each. We fund buyers, so we can tell you how a lender is likely to read your business before it goes to market.

4. Choose how you will sell

Most WA businesses are sold through a business broker. In Western Australia a person who acts for a buyer or seller in selling a business needs a real estate and business agent licence under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 (ABLIS licence finder, checked 27 October 2026), so check the licence of anyone you interview, along with their fees, the length of any exclusive period and their recent sales in your industry. Some owners sell privately, often to a staff member, a competitor or a supplier. A sale to your own manager is a management buyout, and its funding is covered on our acquisition finance page.

5. Market it confidentially

Staff, customers and suppliers should not hear about a sale from a listing. Buyers normally see a short anonymous summary first, then sign a confidentiality agreement before they receive an information memorandum with the financials, the lease, the staff structure and what is included in the price. Serious buyers will also want to know early whether you will offer a handover period and vendor finance.

6. Agree terms, then the contract

Most sales move from an accepted offer to heads of agreement, then due diligence and a formal sale contract prepared by your lawyer. The contract settles what is included, the price allocation between goodwill, plant and stock, the restraint on you competing, the handover period and any conditions, including the buyer's finance. If you lease your premises, the landlord's consent to assign the lease is often the longest lead item, so raise it early. If you own the premises, our guide to sale and leaseback covers selling the building separately.

7. Settle the tax, then settle the sale

The tax on the gain can change your net outcome more than a small movement in price. The small business CGT concessions can reduce, defer or remove it, and the rules change from 1 July 2027. Our page on small business CGT concessions explains what applies, and your accountant confirms it for your structure. At settlement the buyer's funds, the lease assignment, the stocktake and the transfer of licences and accounts all happen together, followed by your handover period.

Why sellers talk to a finance broker

We see the buyer's side. Rockwall was founded by two former commercial bankers, and we fund business purchases. That means we can tell you how a lender is likely to read your business, and where a buyer's finance is likely to fail, before you set the price.

We are not a business broker. We do not list or sell businesses. We help sellers price for a market that can borrow, and help buyers get the deal funded.

Licensed and accountable. We are MFAA members and Credit Representatives (579184, 579182 and 580433) of Finsure Finance & Insurance Pty Ltd.

Frequently asked questions