What exactly is business goodwill?

It is everything that makes a business run: the customer base, the brand, the lease rights, the equipment, the licenses. Buying the goodwill means taking over a running activity — the walls are not included and are negotiated separately.

How much does business goodwill cost?

It depends on the trade and the revenue. Practice uses a percentage of annual revenue: often 50 to 100% for food businesses, less for services. Location, lease and equipment condition then make the difference — two businesses with the same revenue can be worth double one another.

How to finance a goodwill purchase?

A 20 to 30% contribution, a professional loan for the balance, and public support: ACRE (reduced contributions), ARCE (unemployment benefits paid as capital), zero-interest honour loans. A solid forecast remains the key to convincing the bank.

Business goodwill in Sarthe: the market

How many businesses change hands in Sarthe, in which trades, and how large the pipeline is as owners retire. Public BODACC, SIRENE and INPI figures, updated monthly.

Goodwill sales (24 months)

557 goodwill sales in the department

Active establishments (22 tracked trades)

9 467 establishments in activity

Owners aged 60 and over

30% of owners — the pipeline of upcoming cessions

Goodwill by trade in Sarthe

The stock of active establishments, trade by trade: this is where tomorrow's goodwill sales will come from. Open a trade for the takeover details in the department.

Trade	Active establishments (SIRENE)
restaurant	1 350
physiotherapy practice	983
auto repair garage	943
hair salon	812
nursing practice	807
beauty salon	707
fast-food outlet	704
general practice	608
bakery	450
café-bar	394
taxi or private-hire business	294
grocery store	292
dental practice	234
caterer	200
florist	173
pharmacy	163
butcher shop	152
dry cleaner	79
wine shop	57
tobacconist	31
greengrocer	20
fishmonger	14

How business goodwill is bought

The price is usually negotiated as a percentage of annual revenue, with a scale specific to each trade: around 60 to 110% of revenue for a bakery, 50 to 90% for a restaurant, 30 to 50% for a hair salon. The lease rights, equipment and customer base are part of the goodwill; the walls are negotiated separately.

On the financing side: the personal contribution usually covers 20 to 30% of the price, the rest goes through a professional loan. ACRE lightens your social contributions in the first year, unemployment benefits can be paid as capital (ARCE), and honour loans (Initiative France, Réseau Entreprendre) strengthen the bank file.

Which goodwill to target in Sarthe?

Before signing, check the area: reachable population, real competition, local momentum. Our per-trade and per-town analyses give the public figures to position each opportunity.

FAQ

What exactly is business goodwill?: It is everything that makes a business run: the customer base, the brand, the lease rights, the equipment, the licenses. Buying the goodwill means taking over a running activity — the walls are not included and are negotiated separately.
How much does business goodwill cost?: It depends on the trade and the revenue. Practice uses a percentage of annual revenue: often 50 to 100% for food businesses, less for services. Location, lease and equipment condition then make the difference — two businesses with the same revenue can be worth double one another.
How to finance a goodwill purchase?: A 20 to 30% contribution, a professional loan for the balance, and public support: ACRE (reduced contributions), ARCE (unemployment benefits paid as capital), zero-interest honour loans. A solid forecast remains the key to convincing the bank.