Why hire a business broker if you already found a business?

One of the BIGGEST waste of monies that you will ever experience is buying or selling a business without a qualified business broker.  You may think this is an outrageous statement.  But you are wrong.  Why can I be so bold?  Experience.

I just got off the phone with yet another business purchaser.  They called me because they are buying a small business and have spent over ten (10) thousand dollars on attorneys AND THEY ARE NOT DONE!!!!!.  This is ridiculous.  WHY? This business buyer has asked their attorney at $250 per hour to negotiate every aspect of the transaction. (This example also applies to CPA firms)  The other problem? Most attorney’s (or CPA’s) have never owned a business therefore have no idea what to ask.  They are looking to protect you legally not protect your business pocket book.  Therefore, why would you spend your hard earned money on an attorney to help you negotiate and deal with business terms when they were trained in college to negotiate LEGAL terms.

The benefits of having a qualified business broker involved in your transaction is to negotiated the deal thru the land minds.  What most business owners and business buyers do not understand is that process of locating a business and/or locating a buyer is the EASY part.  Yes, that’s where the fun begins.  80% of all business purchases fail when a qualified business broker is NOT involved. That is compared to 15% fail rate for deals negotiated by a qualified business broker.

Land mines are plentiful in business transactions.  One example of this that many business owners and business buyer do not see coming…. When to tell the employees?  Most business buyers and business owners believe that the employees should be told as soon as possible.  The problem in many situation is the employees believe they may be losing their job. So instead of telling you this, they begin looking for new opportunities before it is too late.  Did you know that at Huntington Business Group we have an entire system (algorithm) for when and how and under what circumstances the employees are told.

Many times areas that would typically kill a deal or cost you money can be saved with the simple process of having a qualified business broker helping in the transaction.  While this expense can seem needless.  It becomes more apparent that this is the right decision when you have successfully sold and/or purchased a business and your legal expenses were minimal. The legal expenses are minimal because you asked the attorney to do only what attorney’s are trained to do: Legal.  Your accounting bills are minimal because you only asked your CPA to do ACCOUNTING.

HOW MUCH IS MY COMPANY WORTH?

There are many reasons for a business valuation.  Valuations for wealth planning, individual/corporate tax compliance and valuations that are prepared for litigation support related to family law/divorce, dissenting shareholders, etc.   The most common form of valuation, however, is one that provides a business owner seeking to sell his or her business an approximate value that the company can reasonably expected to be sold.  It is this latter form of valuation that Huntington Business Group offers as a service to its clients seeking an exit strategy.

A valuation that is done for the purposes of selling a  business assumes a couple of factors.  First that the business owner is not selling the business under duress.  i.e. divorce, partnership dispute, financial crisis.  It also assumes that the buyer will also not be under duress. i.e. Patent issues, etc.

As the #1 Business Sales firm in the country Huntington Business Group has committed the resources over the years to develop a valuation methodology that not only makes sense to our clients, but equally as important has produced a high level of credibility and success within the buyer community. We continue to enjoy wide support for our valuation techniques and recognize this is one of the many services in which we excel that collectively contributes to Huntington Business Group’s #1 position in the Merger & Acquisition and business brokerage industry.

While some of our processes are proprietary in nature we can disclose that we employ both a scientific and artistic approach to business valuations.  Our initial process to produce the highest quality analysis focuses on our extended efforts to be certain we have a complete knowledge of the business, its industry and an understanding of the value drivers (exclusive of financially related drivers – see below) that includes:

• Unique attributes that can potentially serve as an economic “moat” and therefore separate it from its competitors
• Barriers to competitive entry
• Diversity of customer base
• Quality of its workforce and existence of management depth
• Growth potential
• Operating systems and procedures
• Condition of facility and equipment
• Product diversity

Each of these value drivers are critical to the valuation process, but the importance of reliable financial information naturally cannot be overlooked and to many buyers is the most important value driver. While many business buyers focus, in our opinion, far to much on financial drivers, we emphasize that financial data alone does not create or produce a business valuation that truly reflects the true value of the on going business. Don’t get us wrong,  we indeed examine closely the financial data and perform modeling techniques to determine if the financial information is reliable and determine if the cash flows are stable and/or predictable.

Subject to the size of the company the cash flow of a business can be characterized as Sellers’ Discretionary Earnings (SDE) or Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA).

During the financial analysis phase we review all components of the P&L.  Similarly, tax returns as they become available are also closely reviewed and compared to the P&L Statements.  The objective, aside from attending to issues that might arise based upon accounting methods (cash vs. accrual, GAAP adherence, etc.), is to:

1. gain an understanding of expense items that are discretionary to include those that are not essential to the day-to-day activities of the business,
2. identify those expenses that are deemed to be non-recurring or one time,
3. scrutinize those expenses that are associated with the owner to be certain they qualify as add-backs. (M&A transactions generally preclude typical owners’ salary and many related expenses from being treated as bona fide add-backs and therefore the focus on the larger transactions is placed upon EBITDA.), and finally,
4. be assured that we have an in-depth knowledge of the revenue stream.
5. Analysis of the Balance Sheet (with the udnerstanding that many  of the businesses we review have incomplete or inaccurate Balance Sheet reports.  Our knowledgeable team of advisors and valuation analysts understand the relationship between the Balance Sheet and P&L.

Once our analysis of the financial data outlined above is complete we can then benchmark the SDE or EBITDA, as appropriate, with comparable sales activity and relevant industry standards.  This should comprise a key ingredient to any valuation and Huntington Business Group utilizes its vast resources to confirm its analysis

No valuation would be complete without a parallel focus on the “multiple of cash flows” concept that is so widely employed by buyers.  Unfortunately, we find that many business brokers and prospective buyers alike often focus strictly on this concept/rule of thumb as a sole means of determining value and do not consider the underlying factors of the valuation process.  Too many variables, to include the role of value drivers, exist to just routinely apply a multiple of cash flows to SDE or EBITDA in order to establish a value.  This approach, commonly applied by many business brokers/intermediaries to value a business, is a disservice to the client and one that fails to provide a professional level of representation.  Huntington Business Group does not take these shortcuts.

As a final step to the process we expand it to establish validity to our work product.  Quite simply, “do the numbers work”?  Specifically, subject to the source of financing and the size of the transaction, the cash flows, as determined above, must at a minimum service the debt incurred by the purchaser. This step cannot be taken lightly in that it ensures we are in sync with the current lending environment and, too, serves as additional support for the valuation before being released to the client and ultimately the marketplace.  A key caveat, and a source of funding that has become quite prevalent as a result of the current lending environment, relates to the willingness of the seller to provide financing.  This not only alters the manner in which debt servicing is viewed, but is also a means to justify a higher valuation.  We embrace this means of financing a deal and give it serious consideration during our analysis.  An astute buyer warmly welcomes a structure that includes a substantial amount of seller financing and is therefore willing to accept a higher valuation.

In summary, Huntington Business Group embodies, without exception, the desire to fulfill our clients’ objectives and perform the many services we offer at a level that is beyond reproach; adhering to this philosophy has resulted in Huntington Business Group being recognized as the #1 Business Sales firm.

You Can Start By Treating The Sale Of Your Business Like The Life Transition That It Is!

Whether you are funding your retirement or moving on to a new business venture, unless you are an experienced business seller, there are lots of things you aren’t aware of when it comes to selling your business. Like many others who have attempted to sell their business, you are likely wondering.

• Where to begin?
• How to get the best price possible for your business?
• Where to find buyers?
• How to make the whole process quick and painless?
• How to continue running your business efficiently while you search for a buyer?

The unfortunate fact is that many business owners fail to properly address these and many other issues that are vital to successfully selling your business.  Treat the sell of your business like any other important decision in your life and get the assistance necessary to position yourself for success.  If you don’t you could fall victim to some tough odds.

Well, this question often comes up as there are quite a few one-man business brokerage firms that sell small businesses. These one-man shows are all about trying to list and sell businesses anywhere from very small (100k sell price) businesses up to $5 to $10 million in sale price. This can be a very confusing process.  Sometimes these “one-man” firms have a nice website and come across very competent. So does it really matter if it is a one-man firm or a firm that has 5, 10 or even more professionals?

Candidly, let me explain why a one-man show is not typically the right solution for most businesses. First let me be honest. I sold my business with a small business brokerage firm and what I’ve learned since I’ve got into actually selling businesses is I got Screwed. Sorry to be so crude but bottom line is I literally got half of what I should have received when I sold my business through a one-man business brokerage firm. Why? Well it’s very simple. He had no resources.

Industry statistics show that Business Brokerage offices with only one broker on average sell just a little over one business per year. When a business brokerage firm that has an average of five brokers per office will sell 20 businesses per year! Think about that! That’s four businesses per broker. What is the difference? Well it’s certainly resources. I’m not talking about financial resources as much as I’m talking about people resources. There is something very powerful about having five people sitting around a conference table discovering the best customized strategy to sell your business. Not just selling a generic business but a business sales firm that understands the complexities of your company. Just as every person has a different finger print, also every business is different. Even if a firm has sold 10 businesses in your industry, they have never sold YOUR particular business. Therefore, there are complexities about your business that require a customize sales process. This means it is critical that you have multiple people strategizing and searching to find the right buyer for your business.

I believe that you’re wasting your time, wasting your efforts, wasting everything that you’ve put in your business if you go with a one-man show.  I’m sorry to be so passionate but I did when I sold my business and I got screwed and I would hate for you to as well. In my opinion, there is no doubt that you are going to get a “bad deal” if you go with a one-man business brokerage firm that only has one agent or one broker in the entire office. It is actually doing you the business owner a big disservice. After you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into this business you run the risk of throwing money in the trash. So my concern can be boiled down to one statement… Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket!

In a recent team planning meeting we discussed the topic of the common characteristics that are required for a good business broker (M&A guy, Business intermediary or whatever your preferred terminology). While the top business brokers (based on actual productivity) in the country were in that room, you might be surprised at what the FINAL list was:  

1. Honesty and Integrity – Yes this is a given but we couldn’t have made a list without at least putting this on it. But to be honest there are unsuccessful business brokers that are Honest.
2. Candidness – It is crucial for a good business intermediary that can confront either the business purchaser or the business seller on issue that will ultimately kill the deal. The process of selling a business is complicated and there is good news and there is bad news.  If you don’t have a business broker that can tell you the bad news then you don’t have a business broker that can sell your business.
3. Manage Expectations – As I mentioned it earlier if you are ONLY focused on finding a business broker that will tell you a price that you want to hear you are headed down the wrong track.  A good business sales professional will ALWAYS tell you the truth and not give you promises that they can’t deliver on.
4. Creative Problem Solver – There is certainly a trend in this list SO far.  But understand that there is no such thing as a easy sell of a business. There are always problems.  In fact,  the saying goes “every deal dies 3 times”. This is often the reason why For Sale by Owner is never successful.  If every deal dies 3 times (or more) then you need someone that has been here before that can have a team of professionals that will pull from their other experiences and creative thinking to develop strategies to get the deal back on track.
5. Understands Team Concept – I recently wrote an article on “Does Size Matter” “One Man Shows”.  In this article you can clearly see why having a team approach is critical to your success.
6. Good Listener – If your business sales professional doesn’t hear you or the buyer when they talk… How can you expect to have a business transaction that meets your goals?  The don’t even know what your goals are….
7. Follow thru & Work Ethic – The sell of a business is a long process and to be successful you must have a business intermediary to follow-up with every buyer and follow the process tirelessly.  If your business broker works 3 days a week then you maybe should find someone that is sells businesses for a living instead of one that is doing this job in place of working at Walmart.
8. Has the Seller and Buyer’s best interest at heart – If the business broker is just after the commission check then they will never be able to focus on the important aspects of getting a deal done.
9. Understanding the Psychology of the “Deal” – Well I am sorry to say that you will have to wait on the book for this one.  This is a topic that is one of our trade secrets that sets us apart from the other brokers.  I am even talking about the other good brokers that are successful.  Let’s just say that the Psychology of the deal means that the sell of a business is more than numbers. More than a P&L and Balance Sheet. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND this point.

Buying a business and selling a business is a very complicated process.  This is why not many people are successful at the task. If you can find someone that can help you that First understands the principles and has the education and the Second has the above 9 characteristics.  Then you have found the right team to help you sell your business.

Huntington Business Group has long recognized that sellers have little appetite for such overwhelming projects.  We therefore, in the early stages of the engagement and well ahead of any of any interaction with a buyer, educate those sellers who have not experienced the due diligence process.  Huntington Business Group, in fact, works with the buyer and his/her advisors in order to mitigate the time consuming impact that due diligence can have upon sellers.  Furthermore, we assist the seller in collecting and organizing the information requested by the buyer.  If certain requests are deemed to be unreasonable then we communicate with the buyer and/or the advisors to explain and justify our position.  Many of the checklists that a buyer will present to the seller are downloaded and, as such, are not tailored for the size or type of the business that our client is selling.  We have, in fact, seen due diligence requests for small businesses that are more comprehensive than those that are submitted in connection with $25 million plus transactions.

Mindful of  the potential frustration that can be associated with due diligence and the consumption of time required to fulfill due diligence requests we, as noted above, advise our clients how to be prepare for the process.  The VentureXchange™ system, designed and created by Huntington Business Group and available exclusively to our clients, outlines every detail of selling a business to include navigating through this often lengthy due diligence process.  Specific tools are available to guide our clients through a preliminary procedure wherein our clients are able to put their company through a review process that anticipates what a buyer will be evaluating during due diligence.  A review of operational, marketing, personnel, technology, legal, regulatory, environmental, insurance, contractual, credit and financial/accounting issues before a buyer enlists his professional advisors to do the same is the focus of this exercise and is an immensely valuable undertaking.  It will not only ease the future burden, but will also demonstrate to the buyer that he/she will be taking over a business that is well organized and efficiently operated.

DALLAS, Tex. – VR Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions announced today that Dallas-based Huntington Business Group, Inc. finished 2010 ranked as the No.1 VR office in the world.

Annual office rankings are based on total gross revenue for the calendar year, and of the 125 VR offices worldwide, HBG has achieved rankings of 3rd in 2009 and 4th in the three years prior to that, but this is its first No.1 ranking.

HBG president Scot Cockroft has enjoyed his share of individual accolades over the years, being named VR’s Most Valuable Intermediary in 2008 and a Dallas Business Journal Dealmaker of the Year in 2010, but the overall No.1 office ranking is a goal that has eluded him up to this point.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with this honor because it represents the collective effort and success of everyone in our organization, not just the owner or an individual agent,” Cockroft said. “Those individual awards are great, but this office achievement is something we can all hang our hats on and be proud of together.”

For VR president Peter King, Dallas’ No.1 ranking came as no surprise. Ever since meeting Cockroft for the first time in 2004, he has expected great things out of the Dallas office.

“Scot burst on to the scene with success right out of the gate,” King said. “He had a fresh and unique way of looking at this industry and how businesses changed hands, and implemented new ideas and strategies that made Dallas an immediate top office. Under his leadership, Huntington has been on an unprecedented streak of success over the past several years, so it’s fitting they finally landed at No.1.”

Cockroft is the first to admit that the past few years have proved challenging due to the recessionary issues facing businesses in Dallas and across the country. However, he credits his organization’s dedication to the core principles of their proprietary VentureXchange™ system with excelling during these difficult times.

“VentureXchange™ is all about understanding our clients’ true objectives and motivations, and then using our own unique processes to achieve the results that make the most sense for them,” Cockroft explained. “The nature of the world we’re operating in today has forced business owners to take a much harder look at major decisions like selling their companies – we understand this, which is why our entire process is built around helping shed light on that decision for our clients and then assisting them in whatever direction they determine is best to take.

“Without question, it’s this commitment to our clients that has been the foundation to our success, not only in 2010 but ever since we opened this office almost a decade ago.”

Huntington Business Group, Inc. (www.vrbigd.com) has consistently been recognized as one of the top business sales organizations in the world. Since 2005, HBG has finished as a top-five office six times and been home to 14 top-10 agents. HBG specializes in assisting the owners of privately-held companies to value, market and sell their businesses, as well as assisting buyers with locating suitable acquisition opportunities.

VR Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions (www.vrbusinessbrokers.com) has sold more businesses in the world than anyone®. Its principle office is located in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. There are approximately 125 VR offices worldwide, making it one of the largest global business sales organizations in the world.

Since most business sales in which professional business intermediaries have been engaged are those of non-public entities and, as such most likely take the form of an asset sale (as opposed to a stock sale), it is this type of sale upon which we will focus. The IRS has established guidelines for the allocation of purchase price for asset based transactions under Section 1060 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Allocating the purchase price to the entity’s assets in a business sale/acquisition is both science and art. The science aspects dictate that the rules established by the Internal Revenue Service be followed, along with documenting the underlying assumptions that are used. Art comes into play in the actual identification of the intangible assets and allocating value to these intangible assets.

It is important that the seller and buyer seek direction from their tax advisors when purchase price allocation is being negotiated. Failure to do so can have a significant affect upon the economics of a sale/acquisition. The allocation of purchase price is often overlooked while price, terms and other conditions of the sale are being negotiated. It is not uncommon, in fact, for the buyer and seller to have agreed upon these terms before discussing the purchase price allocation and its corresponding tax effects. Therefore, itshould be evident that the purchase price allocation, and the potential cash implications following close of the transaction, can assume such a critical role that the inability to mutually agree upon the allocation can cause a deal to fall apart. The intermediary, knowing that the seller seeks to maximize the after tax proceeds from the sale and the buyer desires to maximize the after tax cash flow of future operations, should be prepared to bring the parties together at the appropriate time to incorporate the discussion of purchase price allocation during the discussions and negotiations of other terms.

Once the parties have agreed upon the purchase price allocation and the transaction closes then IRS Form 8594 must be filed by each of the parties. The allocation of purchase price reported on IRS Form 8594 is binding unless the IRS determines it is not appropriate.

The sale includes all the assets of the business not specifically excluded and may include equipment, inventory, work in progress, trade fixtures, leasehold improvements, contractual rights, business records, licenses, franchises, customer lists, goodwill, covenant not to compete, trade secrets, trade names, telephone numbers and supplies. Other intangibles and intellectual property could include patents, trademarks, secret formulas, etc.

The allocation discussed above is based on what is referred to as the “Residual Method” and, pursuant to IRS guidelines, must be determined in the sequence outlined below:

• Step One: Value all identifiable assets
• Step Two: Determine total amount to be allocated (certain non-specific transaction costs such as employment/non-compete agreements must be considered)
• Step Three: Assign to respective classes of assets in the following order:

o Class I – Cash
o Class II – Marketable Securities
o Class III – Accounts Receivable
o Class IV – Inventory
o Class V – Assets Not Otherwise Classified
o Class VI – Section 197 Intangibles (i.e., specifically identifiable intangible assets other than Goodwill)
o Class VII – Goodwill

The total value allocated to the assets must equal the purchase/sales price. Some tax implications of the purchase price allocation are shown below.

Amount allocated to Tangible Personal Property (e.g., buildings, leasehold improvements, trade fixtures, furniture, and equipment):

• Seller: If held more than one year, gains in excess of depreciation are long-term capital gains; otherwise ordinary income
• Buyer: Depreciates new basis per IRS schedules

Amount allocated to Covenant Not to Compete/Customer List and similar Intangibles:

• Seller: Ordinary income
• Buyer: Amortize over 15 years

Amount allocated to Training/Consulting:

• Seller: Ordinary income
• Buyer: Expense as incurred

Amount allocated to Goodwill:

• Seller: If held for more than one year, long-term capital gain
• Buyer: Amortize over 15 years

Amount allocated to Land:

• Seller: If held more than one year, long-term capital gain; otherwise ordinary income
• Buyer: No immediate tax impact

Amount allocated to Inventory:

• Seller: Ordinary income, to the extent over basis
• Buyer: Treated as cost of goods sold upon sale of inventory

In summary, Huntington Business Group, Inc. highly recommends that the seller and buyer address the allocation of purchase price in connection with negotiations of the other terms of the transaction. Licensed and/or accredited brokers, CPA’s and attorneys should be consulted.

Mike Derrick is a Senior Business Intermediary with VR Huntington Business Group Inc. a VR Business Sales firm in Dallas (www.vrbigd.com).

VR Huntington Business Group is the leading business brokerage firm in North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Our firm is comprised of professional business intermediaries that specialize in Business Brokerage, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Valuation and Consulting services focusing on small businesses and mid-market companies.

With the reinvigorated mindset of the market place and the recent announcement from the SBA about additional funding to support small business lending, it is increasingly clear that 2010 is an ideal time for business owners to sell.

The decision to sell, however, is a difficult one and is driven by a number of factors. Personal timing must be considered. Owner burn-out and a desire for change often influences the decision to sell – retirement, illness and a host of other issues can also be motivating factors. But these items should NOT be the only factors considered. Proper timing should also be considered in order to maximize the economic benefits of the sale. Although no one can advise a business owner as to the best personal time to sell their business, allowing personal issues to determine when to sell can only lower the value of a business.

Once you’ve eliminated any personal obstacles, you must then consider selling from a business standpoint. Unfortunately, few business owners decide to sell when everything is going great. However, this can be and most times is the best time to consider selling your business. It is important to recognize that this is the precise point in time that buyer interest will be at its peak and your premium price will be most achievable. On the other hand, if an owner attempts to sell their business after a period when revenue is off, after losing a key employee or losing a significant customer then the ability to sell becomes problematic at best. The best time for an owner to sell is when his or her business is efficiently staffed and growing. Businesses with these characteristics are very attractive, can be financed and are, therefore, saleable.

Now that we understand what motivates business owners to sell, what appeals to the marketplace and how timing can impact the value of one’s business during the sales process, we can now focus on why 2010 is an ideal time to sell.

Capital Gains Tax Rates Will Increase

This is an if but rather a when. Given the current state of the economy and circumstances at the national level, the federal government will need to raise additional revenue in order to finance the various governmental programs it enacted during 2009. Much of these revenues will be generated from an increase in the Capital Gains Tax rate legislated during 2010. Of concern is whether an increase in these rates will be retroactive – at a minimum it appears that effective January 2011 any taxable transaction will be subject to an increased capital gains rate. The new rate will be higher than the current rate which is approximately 15%.

The sale of a business is complicated and can require several months to finalize – some transactions require 8 to 12 months to complete. Delays can, therefore, be very costly – especially in light of an imminent tax rate increase. For example, a mere increase to 25% from the existing 15% capital gains rate could cost a business owner $100,000 per $1 million of their sales price should the sale of their business not becompleted prior to enactment of any legislation that raises the capital gains tax rate.

Buyers Are Available

There are many individuals who have been unable to survive widespread corporate downsizing. On the surface this group may not appear to be candidates to buy a business, but let us drill down a bit further. Most of the recently unemployed are members of the prolific baby boomer generation and have had the opportunity to save substantial sums of money. Much of this wealth is stored away in 401(k) plans and other savings programs that the IRS now allows one to tap into without paying taxes or penalty. These funds are available to buy a business.

Other buyers also exist. Many companies have been hoarding cash and are seeking opportunities to take advantage of this abundant level of acquisition capital. This, along with low interest rates, offers a very broad base of buyers who are seeking investment opportunities to take advantage of economies of scale and to gain market share.

Financing

Traditional financing avenues remain narrow but many SBA lenders continue to exhibit a healthy appetite for lending and, as recent statistics reveal, have provided millions of dollars for qualified buyers. SBA lending is likely to increase as the current administration undertakes previously announced efforts to increase funding for small businesses.

Mike Derrick is a Senior Business Intermediary with VR Huntington Business Group Inc. a VR Business Sales firm in Dallas (www.vrbigd.com).

VR Huntington Business Group is the leading business brokerage firm in North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Our firm is comprised of professional business intermediaries that specialize in Business Brokerage, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Valuation and Consulting services focusing on small businesses and mid-market companies.

Dallas, Texas – VR Huntington Business Group of Dallas assisted in the successful sale of Sweet Land Tree Farm last week from Wintters Realty, LLC to HHH Nurseries, LLC.

Todd Wintters, president of Wintters Realty, LLC, acquired the farm three years ago from the founder. Sweet Land became a division of his engineering company, but as his core business evolved, it became a priority to move away from the tree business and find a suitable buyer for the farm.

“When it came time to sell the farm, I had two routes to consider,” Wintters said. “I could list the property with a real estate broker or try using a professional business intermediary. In the end, choosing VR Huntington was the best decision I could have made. The farm benefitted greatly from being marketed as an operating business rather than just a piece of property.”

HHH Nurseries, LLC was formed by brothers Blake and Jason Hearnsberger, along with their father, Roy. The group has real estate interests in other parts of the state and Sweet Land provided them an opportunity to expand their operation into East Texas as well as into the wholesale tree business.

“Having acquired other agricultural properties previously, our objective was to expand those holdings with an income-producing opportunity,” said older brother Jason. “This business was a bit further from the Houston area than we were looking to go, but based on the quality of the operation and the amount of detail readily provided by VR Huntington, Sweet Land became a viable option for us.”

Wintters gives VR Huntington credit – not only for generating significant interest in his business and producing multiple offers but also for the expertise they provided in evaluating each buyer individually.

“VR produced four offers on my business,” Wintters said. “The buyers were all qualified and motivated to make the purchase, which puts a lot of pressure on the owner to make sure and choose the right person. With VR’s guidance I selected an offer, and it turned out to be the best buyer I could have hoped for.”

Sweet Land Tree Farm (www.sweetlandtreefarm.com) offers wholesale customers access to a variety of Texas’ most popular hardwood landscape trees, including red oak, live oak, Chinese pistachio, pond cypress, cedar elm, lacebark elm and many others. The farm sits on 20 acres of prime property in Grand Saline, Texas. Contact Sweet Land at 903.962.3986.

The sale was facilitated by Jeremy Furtick, Senior Business Intermediary, with VR Huntington Business Group Inc. a VR Business Sales firm in Dallas.

The VR network was established in 1979 and is the oldest professional business brokerage in the nation with more than 125 offices and 800 agents worldwide. VR Huntington Business Group (www.vrbigd.com) is based in Dallas and has finished the last four years as one of the top VR offices in the world. VR Huntington specializes in assisting the owners of privately-held companies to value, market and sell their businesses, as well as representing buyers interested in professional assistance in their business searches.