How we handle a business sale
Most owner-operated businesses in Central Florida are two assets in one: the company, and the building or site it operates from. Selling one without a plan for the other leaves value on the table and can tie up the property for years. This practice handles both — the confidential sale of the business, the sale, retention or carve-out of the real estate, and the structure that ties the two together — with a principal on the file from the first conversation to closing.
The work is done by a principal, not handed down: the valuation framework, the confidential outreach, the structuring with the real estate and the negotiation, through to closing.
Who we represent
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Owners selling an operating business
Founders and families selling a company they built — a hospitality, service, distribution, automotive or retail business, often with the real estate held alongside it. The work is a defensible valuation, a confidential process and a buyer who can close on both assets.
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Private-equity and family-office buyers
Funds and family offices seeking Central Florida operating businesses and the real estate beneath them. We source on and off market, screen for fit against a written acquisition requirement and underwrite the property separately from the company.
What the practice covers
- Confidential sale of owner-operated businesses, with or without the real estate
- A valuation framework for the business and a broker opinion of value for the property
- Buyer qualification: financial capacity, operating experience and intent, before disclosure
- Confidentiality: non-disclosure agreements, blind profiles and staged release of information
- Structuring the business sale together with the real estate — sold together, sold separately or retained
- Sale-leaseback of the real estate to an owner who wants to keep operating
- Real-estate carve-outs when the property should be sold or held apart from the company
- Buy-side representation for private-equity and family-office acquirers
- Coordination with your CPA and attorney on structure, tax and the purchase agreement
- Due-diligence coordination: financials, survey, title, environmental, inspections and financing
How an engagement runs
- Confidential review A first conversation with a principal, under a non-disclosure agreement if you prefer, to understand the business, the property, the ownership and what you want the outcome to be.
- Valuation and structure A valuation framework for the company and a broker opinion of value for the real estate, then a recommended structure: sold together, sold separately, a sale-leaseback or a carve-out. Business valuations are opinions, not appraisals.
- Buyer qualification Prospective buyers are qualified for financial capacity and fit before they see anything identifying. Information is released in stages, against a signed non-disclosure agreement.
- Marketing and negotiation A blind profile to a defined list of strategic buyers, private-equity groups and family offices, then a confidential information memorandum for qualified parties. We negotiate the letter of intent and work with your attorney through the purchase agreement.
- Due diligence and closing The buyer’s review of the financials and the property, the lender’s requirements and the closing calendar for both assets, managed day by day with your CPA and attorney.
Questions we hear
Can I sell the business and keep the real estate?
Often, yes. The property can be retained, with the buyer of the business occupying it under a long-term agreement; sold to the buyer in the same transaction; or sold separately to an investor. Which is right depends on your tax position, the buyer’s financing and whether you want the income or the capital. We lay out each structure with your CPA before the business goes to market.
How do you keep a sale confidential?
The business is marketed under a blind profile that describes it without identifying it. Buyers are qualified and sign a non-disclosure agreement before they learn the name, and detailed information is released in stages. Employees, customers, suppliers and competitors do not learn of a sale unless and until you decide they should.
Is a business valuation an appraisal?
No. A business valuation prepared for a sale is an opinion of probable selling price, built from the company’s financial statements, its assets and the prices paid for comparable businesses. It is not an appraisal and may not be relied upon as one. Where a lender, court or estate requires a formal valuation or appraisal, we will point you to a credentialed valuation professional or appraiser.
What is a sale-leaseback?
An owner sells the real estate to an investor and signs a long-term agreement to keep operating from it. It releases the capital tied up in the property while the business stays in place. The terms of the agreement determine what the property is worth to an investor, so the two are negotiated together.
Do you invest in businesses yourselves?
No. Oceans Commercial acts as the brokerage on the sale or acquisition, and we advise you through it. We do not offer or sell securities, we do not raise capital, and we do not take positions in the businesses we represent. Frank Molnar’s private-equity background is career history that informs the advice, not a source of funds.
Educational information only — not tax, legal or investment advice. Business valuations and broker opinions of value are opinions of probable selling price, not appraisals, and may not be relied upon as appraisals. Lifestyle Group and Oceans Commercial do not offer or sell securities and are not qualified intermediaries. Consult your own CPA, attorney and, where required, a credentialed valuation professional before you sell or contract to sell a business or property.