Irishman Phil J.McDade talks about a decade of putting business buyers and sellers together
BUSINESSES in Bangkok come and go at a staggering rate. While some close for good, most simply exchange ownership, with both parties believing they’ve got a good deal.
Making these often complex exchanges happen are business brokers like Philip J. McDade, a soft spoken Irishman who’s been in this game for 20 years and now enjoys a unique understanding of the market and many of the movers and shakers behind it.
Making these often complex exchanges happen are business brokers like Philip J. McDade, a soft spoken Irishman who’s been in this game for 20 years and now enjoys a unique understanding of the market and many of the movers and shakers behind it.
Hundreds of small and medium businesses with names that are very familiar to Thailand’s expatriate community have passed through Phil’s company, Thai Sunshine Business Advisors (TSBA), which he set up eleven years ago.
At any one time, he has dozens of companies-for-sale on his books. The majority are bars and restaurants, but TSBA’s client list also includes a wide range of non-catering or entertainment businesses, along with property and condos.
Before coming to Thailand, Phil, 61, had considerable sales experience in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, eventually becoming a consultant trainer and mentor to resort and property developers across the region.
Q. Who are your major clients and what kind of businesses do you mostly handle?
A. Our clients are mostly expats, both new to Thailand or already living here, who would like to start something new. We get some Thai clients but they are mostly selling a business or are landlords with properties for lease.
Q. Any businesses you won’t handle?
A. We will list any business that is genuinely for sale by the owner. I don’t remember ever turning away any business listing.
Q. What’s the strangest or weirdest business you’ve been asked to sell?
A. I was once asked to sell the lease on what I can only class as the most disgusting and unhygienic food restaurant I have ever been in and, yes, we sold it. It was turned into a nightclub for a few years. Recently the owners expressed an interest in selling it.
Q. Do you have any limits on the size or price of a deal?
A. We do not normally list anything that is less than a million baht. We put the same effort into finding buyers for a ten million baht business sale as we do into a one million baht sale.
Q. Are your potential buyers people who have specified a particular type of business?
A. Yes we do have such clients. If we do not have one listed, we will go out to source a business they require.
Q. Do you operate overseas?
A. No, only in Thailand.
Q. Are most of the people you deal with honorable and ethical?
A. Most people are quite ethical. However we do get some potential buyers who after viewing several listings just disappear and do not answer emails or phone calls. We’ve also potential business buyers who go back to clients that we have introduced and try to do a private deal with them. We have to be alert in these matters.
Q. After ten years in this business, you must be able to track the health of the local economy. So, how are we doing now compared to a year ago – and how do you see things in 12 months’ time?
A. We have had lean times regarding sales due to the political situation here in Thailand, and we’ve even had clients who until the middle of last year said they’d wait until the situation here was better before investing in a business. Things have picked up since then, however, and people seem to have more confidence to purchase and invest. I think that the future will be good for TSBA and all businesses here in Thailand.
Q. Do you advise what people should buy, and how much they should pay?
A. We try to advise buyers that not all businesses are suitable for them and we try to guide them on what we think would work both businesswise and budget wise. Businesses that we sell are valued on turnover and profit, assets and inventory. Location plays a part in valuation as well.
Q. Many of your clients seem to be bars and restaurants for sale. Are these tough businesses to be involved in?
A. Yes we do have many bars, restaurants, small boutique hotels, but we also have businesses in various industries like food processing plants, advertising businesses, import/export trading companies, resorts and we even have a marine engineering company for sale.
The bar business can be tough for many reasons. That said, there are many people that do very well and can command a high price on a business sale.
Q. Have you found that recently arrived foreigners often get carried away with Bangkok’s exotic charms, and buy a business like a go-go bar without really considering the implications?
A. I have experienced this fact but have been successful in re-sales and getting people moved on.
Q. In your experience, what kind of business is best for a foreign owner to make money?
A. If a buyer has had experience in a certain business like, for example coffee shops or bakeries, and this is what they purchase then generally they make money and can resell for a good price in the future. Bars and restaurants are the same – if the buyer has had experience then this generally helps them to be successful. There are always exceptions and if they need to resell quickly then we will list the business and advise them accordingly.
Q. Do you help to arrange financing and legal transfer of a business?
A. We have in the past arranged vendor financing for buyers to help close a sale, but we do not arrange loans or mortgages. We also have a legal team who help with the transfer of a business, provide company set up, visa and work permit applications and other legal matters required by buyers wishing to live here in Thailand.
Q. Tell us some winners and losers in businesses that you’ve handled.
A. We have had many winners but for reasons of confidentiality cannot name them. We’ve also had a few losers over the years, mostly due to inexperience. Sometimes even politics have closed businesses that might well have gone on to make money and survive.
Q. What are your normal fees?
A. We charge different fees for different services. We have a fee for a business sale and a lower fee for a real estate sale. Occasionally we will negotiate with the seller on a high valued item such as a resort or large hotel.
Q. Is yours a tough business to be in?
A. It can be tough, especially during the times when we had large demonstrations here in Bangkok. However, like everyone else we have bounced back again and hope to continue on to a bright and prosperous future.
www.tsba.info
At any one time, he has dozens of companies-for-sale on his books. The majority are bars and restaurants, but TSBA’s client list also includes a wide range of non-catering or entertainment businesses, along with property and condos.
Before coming to Thailand, Phil, 61, had considerable sales experience in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, eventually becoming a consultant trainer and mentor to resort and property developers across the region.
Q. Who are your major clients and what kind of businesses do you mostly handle?
A. Our clients are mostly expats, both new to Thailand or already living here, who would like to start something new. We get some Thai clients but they are mostly selling a business or are landlords with properties for lease.
Q. Any businesses you won’t handle?
A. We will list any business that is genuinely for sale by the owner. I don’t remember ever turning away any business listing.
Q. What’s the strangest or weirdest business you’ve been asked to sell?
A. I was once asked to sell the lease on what I can only class as the most disgusting and unhygienic food restaurant I have ever been in and, yes, we sold it. It was turned into a nightclub for a few years. Recently the owners expressed an interest in selling it.
Q. Do you have any limits on the size or price of a deal?
A. We do not normally list anything that is less than a million baht. We put the same effort into finding buyers for a ten million baht business sale as we do into a one million baht sale.
Q. Are your potential buyers people who have specified a particular type of business?
A. Yes we do have such clients. If we do not have one listed, we will go out to source a business they require.
Q. Do you operate overseas?
A. No, only in Thailand.
Q. Are most of the people you deal with honorable and ethical?
A. Most people are quite ethical. However we do get some potential buyers who after viewing several listings just disappear and do not answer emails or phone calls. We’ve also potential business buyers who go back to clients that we have introduced and try to do a private deal with them. We have to be alert in these matters.
Q. After ten years in this business, you must be able to track the health of the local economy. So, how are we doing now compared to a year ago – and how do you see things in 12 months’ time?
A. We have had lean times regarding sales due to the political situation here in Thailand, and we’ve even had clients who until the middle of last year said they’d wait until the situation here was better before investing in a business. Things have picked up since then, however, and people seem to have more confidence to purchase and invest. I think that the future will be good for TSBA and all businesses here in Thailand.
Q. Do you advise what people should buy, and how much they should pay?
A. We try to advise buyers that not all businesses are suitable for them and we try to guide them on what we think would work both businesswise and budget wise. Businesses that we sell are valued on turnover and profit, assets and inventory. Location plays a part in valuation as well.
Q. Many of your clients seem to be bars and restaurants for sale. Are these tough businesses to be involved in?
A. Yes we do have many bars, restaurants, small boutique hotels, but we also have businesses in various industries like food processing plants, advertising businesses, import/export trading companies, resorts and we even have a marine engineering company for sale.
The bar business can be tough for many reasons. That said, there are many people that do very well and can command a high price on a business sale.
Q. Have you found that recently arrived foreigners often get carried away with Bangkok’s exotic charms, and buy a business like a go-go bar without really considering the implications?
A. I have experienced this fact but have been successful in re-sales and getting people moved on.
Q. In your experience, what kind of business is best for a foreign owner to make money?
A. If a buyer has had experience in a certain business like, for example coffee shops or bakeries, and this is what they purchase then generally they make money and can resell for a good price in the future. Bars and restaurants are the same – if the buyer has had experience then this generally helps them to be successful. There are always exceptions and if they need to resell quickly then we will list the business and advise them accordingly.
Q. Do you help to arrange financing and legal transfer of a business?
A. We have in the past arranged vendor financing for buyers to help close a sale, but we do not arrange loans or mortgages. We also have a legal team who help with the transfer of a business, provide company set up, visa and work permit applications and other legal matters required by buyers wishing to live here in Thailand.
Q. Tell us some winners and losers in businesses that you’ve handled.
A. We have had many winners but for reasons of confidentiality cannot name them. We’ve also had a few losers over the years, mostly due to inexperience. Sometimes even politics have closed businesses that might well have gone on to make money and survive.
Q. What are your normal fees?
A. We charge different fees for different services. We have a fee for a business sale and a lower fee for a real estate sale. Occasionally we will negotiate with the seller on a high valued item such as a resort or large hotel.
Q. Is yours a tough business to be in?
A. It can be tough, especially during the times when we had large demonstrations here in Bangkok. However, like everyone else we have bounced back again and hope to continue on to a bright and prosperous future.
www.tsba.info
