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A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
A cafe near the Wollongong beachfront, a dining room on Crown Street or a bar in Kiama is priced the same basic way: by what similar venues have sold for, set against the profit that remains once someone is paid to do the owner's job.
Cafes, restaurants and small bars in the Illawarra are normally valued against sales of comparable venues, then tested against profit after a paid manager replaces the owner. The lease, the trading pattern across summer and winter, the fit-out and any liquor licence all move the figure, and the licence is considered as a separate asset.
Typical triggers are a sale or purchase, a partnership split, a landlord's renewal offer or a lender wanting a figure. A buyer looking at a cafe in North Wollongong wants to know whether the asking price matches the trade. Two partners who run a restaurant in Kiama disagree about what a buy-out should cost. A separating owner needs a value at a set date. An accountant is moving a venue into a new structure.
Venues are often priced on gut feel: a multiple of weekly takings, or whatever the last owner paid. Those shortcuts ignore the hours the owner works unpaid, rent that is out of step with the market and a trading year that may include one unusually strong summer. A proper valuation sets out the profit a new owner could reasonably expect and what that profit is worth.
A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
The Market Approach is the starting point. Cafes, restaurants and bars sell often enough in the Illawarra and across New South Wales for sale prices to be tested against profit, but venues are not alike, so the shortlist is kept narrow.
We match on type of venue, seating, location, trading hours, lease term and whether a liquor licence passes with the business. Each sale is converted to a multiple of maintainable earnings, after an operator's wage has been charged against profit.
Tourism and hospitality are seasonal in the Illawarra, so one strong quarter says little. We look at two to three years of takings by month, and where a venue sits on a visitor route at Kiama or Shellharbour, or near the beach, we separate summer weekend trade from the base it earns in the quieter months.
Profit is recalculated after charging a manager's wage in place of the owner's unpaid hours, award-rate labour over the whole year and rent at market. Many venues that look profitable on the accounts are marginal once this is done.
The fit-out, kitchen equipment, furniture and stock are valued at what they would realise if the venue closed. This gives a floor for the price and shows how much of a sale is goodwill that depends on the trade holding up under a new owner.
Two valuers can reach different figures for the same venue because of how they normalise, so our reports show every adjustment beside its reason. In Illawarra venues the usual ones are:
A venue's address changes who buys it and why. Cafes and restaurants around Crown Street and the Wollongong CBD draw office and shopping trade through the week; North Wollongong and the beachfront rely more on weekends and visitors; Kiama and Shellharbour lean on tourism and holiday periods; and suburban centres such as Dapto and Fairy Meadow depend on local residents. Each pattern carries different risk, and a sale from one is not a clean comparison for another.
Two regulatory points shape price. The lease is usually the biggest cost and the biggest risk, and retail premises are commonly leased under the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW), with the NSW Small Business Commissioner offering mediation of disputes before NCAT; whether a particular lease is covered depends on its terms. Where a venue sells alcohol, the licence is regulated by Liquor & Gaming NSW, and the licence and its conditions are examined as a separate part of the sale. Both are checked against the actual documents.
The sector keeps adding businesses, though slowly: accommodation and food services grew by 1.3 per cent nationally in 2025 to 2026 (Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, July 2022 to June 2026, released 18 August 2026). That means steady competition for a Wollongong venue, and it is one reason we compare trading performance, not the number of venues nearby.
The report states its purpose, the standard of value, the valuation date and the records relied on, including point-of-sale reports, and notes any gaps. It then runs through each approach considered, every adjustment with its reason, and the reconciliation into a range with the weighting explained.
In a partnership dispute or a contested sale, the question is how the figure was reached. An opposing expert checks whether the sales used were really comparable and whether the trading year relied on was typical. Those arguments can be heard in the District Court at Wollongong, the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney or, in a property settlement, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and the Expert Witness Code of Conduct in the court rules applies to the expert. Our reports follow APESB, APES 225 Valuation Services and are signed by a certified valuer.
Ask which part of the trading year the figure leans on, and why. If the answer is not specific, the valuer has probably not looked at the months.
An Indicative valuation helps an owner weigh an offer or an asking price. It is for internal decision-making and is not written for third party reliance. A Summary report suits a sale to an unrelated buyer, a partner buy-out or a finance application. A Detailed report is needed for a property settlement, a partner dispute or any matter where another expert will test the number.
Choose by who will read it. When a court, a lender or the ATO might challenge the figure, the reasoning needs to be complete.
For internal decision-making. Useful for testing an offer, setting an expectation before a negotiation, or deciding whether to go to market. It is not written for third party reliance.
Sets out the approaches applied, the normalisation adjustments made and the reasoning behind the conclusion. The usual choice for a sale, an ownership change or a finance application.
Applies and reconciles all relevant approaches in full. The level required where a court, the ATO, a lender or another expert will review the opinion.
Talk your situation through with a certified valuer before you commit to anything, at no cost.