Sunbelt franchisees buy out parent company

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The buying and selling of businesses is nothing new for Sunbelt Business Advisors of the Ozarks, but a recent deal was a little out of the ordinary.|ret||ret||tab|

Carl Grimes, owner of Sunbelt Business Advisors in Springfield and Fayetteville, Ark., and chairman of the Sunbelt Franchisee Advisory Council, joined with 80 other Sunbelt franchisees to buy out their own franchiser, Sunbelt Business Brokers Network. |ret||ret||tab|

Since the Dec. 10 sale, the new company is known as Sunbelt Business Advisors Network. |ret||ret||tab|

Grimes said he and another brokerage-owner from Texas started the process by approaching Sunbelt owner Ed Pendarvis about selling the company.|ret||ret||tab|

"We didn't want to take Sunbelt away from Ed," said Grimes. "We simply wanted to ensure the continued growth and success of the company. This can be done by making sure that the franchisees are offered support and service to help them succeed in their practices, ultimately increasing the revenues of the new Sunbelt."|ret||ret||tab|

Pendarvis, who had owned the company since 1979, was hesitant to sell at first.|ret||ret||tab|

"When several of the franchisees first approached me about selling the company to them, my response was the same as it had been to other businesses who wanted to buy Sunbelt, The company's not for sale, it's my life's work,'" Pendarvis said. |ret||ret||tab|

The long-time owner decided to go ahead with the sale in an effort to help grow the company, Grimes said. |ret||ret||tab|

Pendarvis continues to be a shareholder and is president of the new company. Grimes is first vice chairman for the company and is responsible for running the board of directors. |ret||ret||tab|

In the next few years, Grimes said, Sunbelt expects most of its growth to be in foreign countries. Already the company has sold master franchises to Thailand and China, with more expansion planned for South America and Europe. |ret||ret||tab|

"There is a lot of growth that's coming to Sunbelt around the world because there are a lot of small business around the world. Sunbelt has really caught on because there is a true Sunbelt system that the franchiser teaches," Grimes said.|ret||ret||tab|

Sunbelt is a private company and only Sunbelt owners can be shareholders.|ret||ret||tab|

"We wanted our company to be controlled by people who are in the business on a daily basis and know the needs of the business brokerage industry," Grimes said. |ret||ret||tab|

There are 80 shareholders, and if any of them decides to leave the Sunbelt family, that owner's shares must be sold back to Sunbelt Business Advisors Network. |ret||ret||tab|

Grimes said the new company brings many things to the table, including improved broker training, direct-mail marketing options for small business, third-party business evaluations and nationwide selling efforts.|ret||ret||tab|

"When you list a business with our firm, because of the size of our network, you don't just get Springfield or Fayetteville; you get Kansas City, St. Louis, Tulsa, Okla., Dallas. All of those cities are involved in trying to sell your business," Grimes said. |ret||ret||tab|

There are 346 offices throughout the United States and 11 in foreign countries.|ret||ret||tab|

In 2002, Sunbelt sold more than 3,600 businesses with an average sale price of $280,000 and a total value of more than $1 billion. |ret||ret||tab|

Locally, Grimes said he has franchisee rights for a Joplin location that is set to open by January 2004. Grimes opened the Fayetteville office in 1995 and the Springfield office in 2000. |ret||ret||tab|

Grimes noted that the down economy has had little impact on his company. |ret||ret||tab|

"The economy does not impact small business sales significantly because you've always got those life issues that are taking place in the life cycle of a business. It doesn't make any difference, somebody's going to need to sell," Grimes said. |ret||ret||tab|

"The only area where a bad economy really comes into play is that it creates more buyers. If you start looking at the different industries that have had downsizing, that's where our buyers come from. So a bad economy actually makes it (easier) to sell businesses because more buyers are in the marketplace."|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield has long been known for small business and entrepreneurship, and Grimes' business reflects the local market. |ret||ret||tab|

" In the Springfield market, good economy, bad economy, doesn't make any difference; there are somewhere between 700 and 1,000 privately held businesses that want to sell. Our job is to find those people and lay out a plan to help them get out of their businesses in a way that makes the most economic sense for the them," Grimes said.|ret||ret||tab|

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