Sales of Small Businesses Finally Make Big Gains - ABC News

"Sales of small businesses are finally making big gains.

Fred Barkman, who last year bought Spectra Laboratories, a company that tests land and water for toxins, is in the process of purchasing a second environmental lab. Both companies were owned by retirees who wanted to sell but had to wait for the economy to improve after the recession devastated the small business market.

"I wasn't expecting this second acquisition. It probably came sooner than I expected," says Barkman, whose company is located in Tacoma, Wash. "But I'm more able to find things worth buying."

The economic recovery has created a surge in sales of small businesses. The number of deals tracked by online marketplace BizBuySell.com rose more than 40 percent in the third quarter. Behind the trend: baby boomers want to retire, businesses are healthier following the recession and buyers are finding it's easier to finance deals. At the low point of the recession — the second quarter of 2009 — BizBuySell logged just 1,040 closings. In the third quarter of this year 1,685 sales closed."

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For additional information regarding Florida business sales, acquisitions and valuations, please contact Eric J. Gall at info@buysellflbiz.com or 239.738.6227. Also, visit our Florida Business Exchange website at www.fbxbrokers.com and my personal website at www.buysellflbiz.com.