It helps to think like a buyer – what the buyer’s motives will be to buy your business. To help sell your Melbourne cafe we would like to share our 5 top tips to ensure a smooth, rewarding restaurant sale.

1. Anticipate the Sale

People buy cafes primarily on the basis of the quality of the cafe’s sales and cash flow, equipment and premises lease. This assumes that your cafe location in Melbourne is strong and there is adequate goodwill in the business. We advise the you should try to anticipate the selling process up to a year before the time to list the business for sale, and amend your business strategy if necessary. 

2. Price It Right!

This is arguably the most important advice. Ask for expert help to establish a sensible selling price. It pays to involve business brokers who are experienced in selling cafes, or valuation services that understand the nuances of the cafe business. 

3. List Exclusively

If you have a Melbourne Cafe for sale please consider listing your Melbourne Cafe exclusively. Trust in the assistance of trained professionals like business brokers when it comes to selling a Melbourne Cafe or coffee shop. As a seller, you are paying for savvy—the knowledge of the marketplace, where and how to reach high probability buyers, the broker’s networks (professional contacts, and ready buyers!), and also the broker’s awareness of the cafe business. 

4. Get Your Advisers Involved Early

Lawyers, accountants and other consultants who may need to be involved in the sale of a business should be integrally involved even before the business is listed for sale. You will need legal advice and tax advice. The best way to get it is not just at the time when an offer is received, but all the way through the process. Last-minute introduction of advisers into the negotiating process all too often tends to slow, constrict or inhibit the sales process. The best way to sell a business is to have your advisory team included in the entire process.

5. Keep the Business Growing

When your cafe is listed for sale, you need to continue to aggressively push for increasingly positive sales and expense performance. Since the length of time it takes to properly sell a cafe can be six months or longer, the need to show improving performance should be obvious. In fact, reducing sales or cash flow will only serve the purpose of lowering the final price that the restaurant will sell for. Avoid the tendency to relax your standards and expectations when your cafe is up for sale.

6. Anticipate Offers that Are Different from the Asking Price and Terms 

Rarely does a buyer offer exactly what is being asked for a cafe business. The seller may want all cash—the buyer asks for financing. The seller sets a price and the buyer offers all cash, discounting the price as much as 25%. The rule here is be flexible. Visit with your broker and advisers prior to and during the listing period and when offers are received, so that you understand what your options are.

One final note—expect the unexpected. I could try to outline every conceivable occurrence in the process of selling a restaurant, putting forth years of experience in restaurant brokerage and Cafe operations and STILL not list everything that might happen. Every day and every week, with every listing and every sale, someone puts a new twist in the process of buying and selling a cafe-restaurant business.

Using a business broker to help you sell your business is a good step. Here at First Choice, we have 20 years’ experience in helping people sell businesses of all sizes. Between us, we have over 85 years’ experience! We know what buyers are looking for, and we know how to highlight the unique features of your business, to attract a wide interest. Trust in our expertise, and have a full discussion with us about the special features that your business will bring to its new owner.