San Diego County Small-business Sales Grow

More of San Diego County's small businesses are changing hands in 2013, according to figures from BizBen.com, a leading business listing website.

January's 132 business transactions reflected a 40 percent increase over a year ago; February transactions showed a 20 percent increase, and March's transactions rose 27 percent. April was the first month that the number of sales dropped from the previous year's: 93, compared to 99 in 2012.

A lively market in business transfers is important, says BizBen.com founder and president Peter Siegel, especially as existing business owners age and retire. This year's early numbers, while positive, don't reflect a full recovery, he said.

"While it's encouraging to see improvement in the business for sale marketplace in much of California and in San Diego County, we need a growth trend that shows every month recording more sales this year than in the year before."

The slow recovery is thanks to the difficulty of accessing the capital needed to complete deals, he said. Many buyers are hesitant to commit to buying a company he added, because they are uncertain about the future of the economy.


Article by Katherine Poythress

BUSINESS- UT San Diego


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