BreakThru Realty

Sell a Restaurant in Florida

Restaurants are the largest group of businesses for sale on the MLS, and the most likely to be sold badly. The lease, the liquor licence, the equipment and the staff decide the price as much as the sales do, and each of them can stop a closing.

A restaurant dining room with set tables before evening service

Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record, BreakThru Realty, Florida License 3565210

Find Buyers for My Restaurant · (786) 914-1017

Your first step: Confidential Business Exit Review

Start With a Confidential Business Exit Review

Your business represents years of decisions, relationships and work. Before anyone hears it might be for sale, know what it would sell for, whether a buyer already working with BreakThru Realty is looking for a business like yours, what a buyer's lender will accept, and what you would take home. A licensed business broker prepares it and walks you through it privately.

What you receive

  • A private check of your business against the criteria registered buyers have given us, with no buyer named and nothing about you shared
  • A recast of your earnings into seller's discretionary earnings, or EBITDA for a larger company, with the add backs documented
  • A price range from closed sales of comparable Florida businesses, with the reasoning
  • The lease, staffing and financing issues that would move the price, and what to fix first
  • What a buyer's SBA lender is likely to accept; consult a lender for terms
  • How buyers are screened for funds and experience, and the confidentiality agreement each signs before learning your name
  • An estimate of what you would take home after the fee and any payoff, and how the transition to a new owner would run

What happens next

  1. Answer a few questions about the business. Revenue and what you take home are enough to start.
  2. A business broker checks the buyer criteria on file and prepares the review from comparable sales.
  3. We call within one business day to walk through it, privately.
  4. Nothing is listed, and nobody is contacted, unless you decide to sell.

Free and confidential. The details you give us are seen only by the broker preparing the review. We do not contact your landlord, staff or customers, and no buyer learns who you are without your consent and a signed confidentiality agreement.

Find Out If We Have a Buyer · How a business sale works

How Restaurants Are Valued

A profitable restaurant sells on a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings, usually lower than a service business because restaurants depend on the owner and on the location. A restaurant that makes little profit is sold on its assets: the build-out, the equipment, the licences and the lease, often called a turnkey or second-generation space. Knowing which of the two you are selling sets the right price and the right buyer.

The Lease Assignment

A buyer needs enough remaining term and options to repay a loan, usually ten years in total, and the landlord has to consent to the assignment. Many restaurant leases require the buyer to meet financial tests, charge an assignment fee or keep you on as a guarantor. We read the assignment clause before we list and raise a renewal or extension early if the term is short, because a restaurant with two years left is worth far less than the same restaurant with ten.

Liquor Licences

A beer and wine licence and a full liquor licence are different assets. In Florida, quota licences for full liquor are limited by county population and can be worth a large sum on their own, while special restaurant licences are tied to the restaurant's seating and food sales and are not bought separately. The transfer goes through the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco and takes time, so we build it into the closing calendar. Confirm the licence type and its transfer rules with the Division before you list.

Equipment and the Build-Out

Buyers want an equipment list with the owned items separated from leased ones, such as the dish machine, ice machine or point-of-sale system. The hood, fire suppression, grease trap and walk-in coolers need current inspections, because a buyer's lender and the fire marshal will check them. Deferred repairs come off the price at the table; fixing them before listing usually costs less.

Financial Records Buyers Will Ask For

Three years of tax returns, monthly profit and loss statements, sales tax returns, merchant statements and bank statements. Food, beverage and labour costs as a share of sales tell a buyer how the kitchen is run. Cash sales that never reached the tax return cannot be counted by a lender, so they do not raise the price.

Keeping the Staff Through the Sale

Kitchens talk. The restaurant is marketed without its name, buyers visit as diners or after close, and staff are told when the owner decides, usually near closing, with the new owner there. A kitchen manager and chef who agree to stay are worth real money to a buyer, and some sellers pay a retention bonus at closing.

Questions you may be asking

Do you already have a buyer for my business?
We say so only after a specific buyer has reviewed a blind profile, signed a confidentiality agreement and confirmed interest. The review first checks your business against the criteria registered buyers have given us and tells you privately whether anything fits. If nothing does, it explains how a confidential campaign reaches more buyers.
Will my employees, customers or landlord find out?
Not from us. The review itself involves nobody but you and the broker. If you later sell, the business is marketed without its name or address, buyers sign a nondisclosure agreement and prove their funds before they learn who you are, and the landlord is approached only once there is an accepted offer.
What does a business broker charge?
A success fee paid from the proceeds at closing, set out in writing in the listing agreement before you sign anything. The review costs nothing.
My books are not perfect.
Few are. The review shows which add backs a lender will accept and which records to tidy before a buyer looks, so the price holds through due diligence.
I only know my revenue.
Tell us the revenue and what you take home, even roughly. We work out the rest with you and ask for tax returns later, only if you want a firm range.

Find Buyers for My Restaurant

Tell us the type of business, the city, how long it has operated, annual revenue, owner benefit or seller's discretionary earnings, EBITDA if you track it, monthly rent and lease expiry, number of employees, how involved you are, why you are selling, your timeline and whether you would consider seller financing. A licensed BreakThru business broker prepares a confidential valuation from comparable sales and replies within one business day. Everything you tell us is confidential, the valuation is free, and nothing is listed or announced unless you decide to sell. Prefer to talk now? Call (786) 914-1017.

Questions Owners Ask

What is my restaurant worth?
If it is profitable, a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings adjusted for the lease, the location and the liquor licence. If it is not, its asset value: the build-out, the equipment, the licence and the lease. A confidential valuation tells you which applies and gives you a range from comparable restaurant sales.
Can I sell my restaurant without the landlord knowing?
Until there is an accepted offer, yes. The landlord has to consent to the assignment, so they are approached with a qualified buyer and a financial package once the price and terms are agreed, not before.
Does my liquor licence transfer with the restaurant?
Usually it can, through the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and a quota licence can be sold with the restaurant or separately. A special restaurant licence stays tied to a qualifying restaurant. Confirm your licence type early, because it changes both the price and the closing timeline.
How long does it take to sell a restaurant?
Often four to nine months to find the buyer, then sixty to ninety days to close while the lender underwrites, the landlord approves and the licences transfer.
What does a business broker charge?
Brokers selling small businesses usually charge a success fee paid from the proceeds at closing, commonly quoted in the market at around ten percent of the price, often with a minimum fee; larger sales are usually priced on a sliding scale. BreakThru's fee is set out in writing in the listing agreement before you sign anything, and the valuation costs nothing.

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