Preparing to sell an owner-operated business in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles business mix

• Entertainment production services: equipment rental, post-production, set and prop building, and the specialist vendors that productions hire.
• Ports and logistics: trucking, customs-related services, warehousing and distribution serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Inland Empire.
• Apparel and food manufacturing: cut-and-sew, private label, specialty food producers and co-packers.
• Aerospace and defense suppliers in the South Bay and the San Fernando Valley.
• Healthcare: medical, dental and therapy practices, home health and medical services.
• Consumer brands and multi-location businesses: restaurants, fitness, salons and services across the county.

Who buys Los Angeles businesses

Individual operators using SBA 7(a) financing

Managers and operators financing with SBA 7(a) loans of up to USD 5 million. The bank underwrites the documented cash flow.

Search funds and ETA buyers

Searchers, many from Southern California business schools, looking for stable B2B and service businesses.

Private-equity add-ons

Platforms in logistics, healthcare, food manufacturing and aerospace buying to add capacity and customers.

Strategic acquirers

Competitors and suppliers, and consumer companies buying brands with a loyal customer base.

What Los Angeles sellers typically get wrong

• One studio, one retailer, one shipper. Concentration on a single large customer is common in production, apparel and logistics. Show the history and plan for structure if it cannot be reduced.
• Revenue tied to industry cycles. Production slowdowns and shipping swings move results. Present several years so a buyer sees the cycle, not a single peak or trough.
• Worker classification and compliance. How workers are classified and how wage and safety rules are followed affect what a buyer inherits. Have your CPA and attorney review them before diligence.
• Brand value without margin. A recognizable brand helps, but buyers pay for earnings. Show contribution by channel and product.
• The lease and the property. Where the sale involves real property or a lease, that part is handled by a real estate professional who holds the right California license, working alongside us.

Before you go to market

In Los Angeles, preparation is often about separating the business from the founder's personal network. Production vendors, apparel makers and consumer brands frequently run on relationships the owner built over years. Write down the terms with key customers and suppliers, introduce a second contact at each one, and show revenue by customer for several years. Clean up how personal spending runs through the company, so every add-back can be shown with evidence. Check that permits, registrations and insurance are current and in the company's name. Twelve to twenty-four months of this work usually does more for the price than any negotiation at the end.

How we value a Los Angeles business

We build seller's discretionary earnings from tax returns, bank statements and payroll, adjust only for documented items, and apply a multiple that reflects size, customer concentration and owner dependence. The debt-service test asks whether a buyer financing the purchase could pay the loan from cash flow with room to spare. The asset floor covers equipment, vehicles, inventory and receivables. You get a range and the reasoning behind each assumption.

How the process runs

1. Conversation. A confidential discussion of the business, the numbers and your timing. No cost, no obligation.
2. Valuation and preparation. A written range from tax returns, bank statements and payroll, and a list of what to fix before buyers look.
3. Marketing, buyer introductions and negotiation. In California, these steps are run alongside a broker licensed in California, and we work with them. We prepare the valuation, the file and the figures the process relies on.
4. Deal structuring advice and closing. Advice to you on structure, seller financing, earn-outs and working capital, with diligence and closing handled alongside your attorney and CPA.

Every engagement is agreed in writing and signed before any work begins. The first conversation is confidential and carries no cost or obligation. See also San Diego and Phoenix.