Industrial business valuations on the Sunshine Coast

What do Sunshine Coast industrial businesses make?

More than its tourism image suggests. Sunshine Coast Council's Regional Economic Development Strategy names food and agribusiness, aviation and aerospace and clean technologies among seven high-value industries, and the council reports the regional economy has grown from $13.8 billion in 2013 to about $29 billion. Three local examples show the range. Gourmet Garden, which McCormick bought in 2016, exports about 80% of what its Palmwoods plant produces to the United States. Country Chef opened a $30 million bakery at Bells Creek Industrial Park in 2024, supplying Coles, Woolworths, 7-Eleven, Qantas and Metcash IGA. Metroll moved into a 9,000 square metre roll-forming plant at Sunshine Coast Industrial Park in 2022, citing demand from planned construction.

Each raises a different valuation question: an exporter's exposure to one currency and one market, a supplier's dependence on a few national retailers, and a building products maker's link to the local construction cycle. The food manufacturing guide covers the sector in depth; this page covers what is particular to the Coast.

Selling to the supermarkets: what is a listing worth?

A ranging arrangement with a major retailer can carry a food manufacturer's whole business. It can also be reviewed, repriced or lost in negotiations the supplier does not control, and it usually comes with promotional funding, rebates and payment terms that do not show up neatly in gross margin. We look at revenue and margin by retailer and by product line after promotional spend, and we separate the supplier's own brands from private label work, which a retailer can put out to tender.

Seasonality matters as well. The council reports that Country Chef's output peaks at about 8 million desserts over Christmas and the summer holidays. For a seasonal maker, stock, debtors and creditors at the valuation date may look nothing like an average month, so we set working capital on a full-year view. Our article on working capital explains why.

Why the lease deserves a second reading

Economic Development Queensland says there is very limited medium impact industry zoned land available on the Sunshine Coast. Its Coolum Industrial Park Stage 2A, nine lots from about 7,800 square metres to 2.4 hectares, was due for release in September 2026. Industry reporting in June 2026 described Kunda Park, Kawana and central Caloundra as having had little to no vacant land for some time.

When replacement sites are scarce, the lease becomes part of the value. We check the remaining term and options, whether the landlord must consent to an assignment on sale, and what make-good would cost. Food plants carry fit-out that is expensive to rebuild: cool rooms, wash-down floors, trade waste drainage and food safety approvals tied to the site. Where the owner holds the building, sometimes through a self-managed super fund, we value the business as a tenant paying market rent and leave the property out of the business value. Your accountant will advise on the fund's side of any new lease.

Who buys a Sunshine Coast industrial business?

The buyer pool shapes what a business can sell for. A food brand with a plant, export customers and food safety systems can interest national and international groups, as McCormick's purchase of Gourmet Garden showed. A smaller engineering shop or distributor is more likely to sell to a local operator, a competitor or a manager, who will pay on earnings they can finance.

A valuation at market value considers the buyers who would realistically be in the market. It does not assume a special buyer will pay for synergies only it can achieve, unless the purpose calls for that. If you plan to sell, an early business sale valuation shows which buyers fit and what they will focus on, and our acquisition valuations work from the other side of the table.

Building products and the growth cycle

Population growth and construction have drawn building product makers such as Metroll to the region. For a local maker of steel products, trusses, joinery or precast, a strong order book is real, but it is tied to building activity that moves in cycles. We look at earnings across more than one year, the forward order book, and how exposed debtors are to builders under financial strain, and we treat a peak year as a peak. See the manufacturing valuation guide.

Servicing the Sunshine Coast and South East Queensland

Noosa, the hinterland, Gympie and Brisbane are covered the same way as Bells Creek or Palmwoods: documents and calls with a valuer, rather than appointments at a local office. Most engagements need no site visit; if the plant needs to be seen, we say so when scoping and agree any visit and its cost first. We confirm the fee in writing before we start. No hourly billing. See pricing.