Blogs

A brokerage firm in my industry recently asked a prospective client for a $20,000 marketing fee. This was not a quote for photography, listing platforms, advertising, print, or staging. Nor was it explained, itemised and totalled. It was twenty thousand dollars, labelled “marketing,” before any appointment had even been signed or a written opinion of […]

Why an independent valuation matters when a business changes hands within the family When part of a business is being handed from one generation to the next, or from one family member to another, it is tempting to let the family’s own accountant put a figure on it. They already know the business. They have […]

What a recent change to family law means if you are separating and a business is part of the picture. If you are separating from a partner, and a business you own, or your partner owns, forms part of what needs to be sorted out, there is a change in family law worth understanding. It […]

Build carefully. Work hard. Take risks. Back yourself. Invest in something real. The idea was that if you put in the years and made sound decisions, the outcome would reflect that. It was not a guarantee, business never is, but the system, broadly, was on your side. Estate planners and wealth advisers are calling the […]

The pattern is now unmistakable and the Reserve Bank has confirmed it. Evidence I am gathering in valuation work and in market sales; shows that gross and net profit margins in the Australian construction industry are compressing once again. Here is what it means for your business — and what you can do about it. […]

You use the same familiar process every year. Your accountant reviews your financials and asks a few questions, makes a few changes, and each year the tax returns are submitted then you move on.  When you are ready to take the business to market your broker uses those same financials.  Then, quietly and without warning, […]

You’ve built something real. Years of early mornings, difficult decisions, and hard-won relationships have produced a business that sustains you, employs people, and occupies a genuine place in the market. Now, for whatever reason, you’re ready to sell. And the question you’re asking yourself is entirely reasonable: “How hard can it really be?” The honest […]

Estate planners and wealth advisers across Australia have started using a different name for the new Capital Gains Tax changes. Death taxes. It is a blunt label. But once you understand what is actually being proposed, particularly for family businesses and trust holders, it is not a difficult one to understand. The issue with trusts. […]

Why One Independent Expert Beats Two Adversarial Ones — Every Time Two expert valuers. Same business. Same documents. One says $3.2 million. The other says $1.1 million. Both are qualified. Both are experienced. Both are willing to defend their number in court. This is not a hypothetical. It is a routine feature of contested commercial […]

I will keep this short. Because that is the point. If you sell your business after 1 July 2027 and you cannot demonstrate what it was worth before or on that date, you will very likely pay more tax than you need to. That is not a scare tactic. It is the mechanics of the […]