Financing: business brokers remain frustrated about financing.

• Author: Kroeker, Curtis
• Position: NEWS&REVIEWS

A new survey reveals some interesting data about how businesses are changing hands today, and specifically who is funding the transactions. Of the nearly 3,000 business brokers surveyed across the nation by BizBuySell.com, an Internet business-for-sale marketplace firm, 68.8 percent of respondents said financing availability has not improved since 2011.

This is virtually unchanged from August 2011, when 67.8 percent of respondents said financing had not im-proved from 2010.

Respondents were not optimistic, with 72.9 percent of the brokers expecting no change in funding availabilit y hrough the rest of 2012; another 19 percent believe fi-nancing availability will tighten even further and the bus ness-for-sale community as a whole is frustrated with this situation.

Absent third-party financing help, buyers ready to buy and sellers ready to sell are being forced to find new ways to piece together deals and sometimes that's not possible.

Banks took the most heat from business brokers for the lack of available financing, with 55 percent of respondents explaining that conditions aren't improving because "bank continue to have more stringent lending policies." Government action has made little to no difference, cite 40.8 percent of respondents and 36.2 percent note that the loan process has become more difficult since 2011.

In short, most brokers see a very tough financing environment that is discouraging potential buyers, holding back small business turnover and, ultimately, slowing...