Hospitality venues are among the small businesses being sold. Photo: 123RF
You may have heard about people taking on a second job to make ends meet, but what about buying yourself a job?
That is exactly what some people are doing because despite the economic downturn, the sale of small businesses is booming.
ABC business sales - which is a broker for small businesses - says sales have soared in the past three months and are up more than a third on a year ago.
Demand is up by nearly 50 percent.
ABC Managing Director Chris Small told Checkpoint it was unexpected.
"I must admit, I was a bit surprised when I saw the numbers."
Who is buying?
Immigrants wanting to buy businesses and people who were made redundant - or who will about to be - were currently driving the trend, Small said.
They're buying rental car companies, transport logistics, childcare, aged car, hospitality venues, service stations, import distribution, online retail, healthcare businesses and some trades.
About 35 - 45 percent of these businesses were in Auckland and the rest in the regions, he said.
"We've had a lot of approaches from people who are in financial hardship where their business is making next to nothing, they're not currently very sellable in this market. People are only purchasing businesses that have a history of profit and are actually currently trading well."
Who is selling their business?
Small said it was largely boomers selling up.
"People in their 70s and they're generally selling because they want to retire and enjoy their retirement or they've had health issues."
Others were selling because they were changing location, going through a marriage breakup, a dispute or wanting a change, he said.
Will the trend continue?
Small would like to say yes but he doesn't think it will increase.
"I think it may flatline, obviously winter is always a period where people hunker down and aren't necessarily as aggressive in their ability to want to buy a business.
"I think if anything it will just flatten off a little bit, we certainly have had a rockstar quarter, I'll be surprised if it continues all year but you never know."
