What it costs to buy a coffee van business in Australia

Coffee van businesses on nine open Australian listings ask from $19,000 for a fitted coffee caravan sold without a business to $269,000 for three vans turning over $436,574 a year. Six of the nine ask $59,000 to $155,000. The price is the vehicle and machine plus goodwill from routes or bookings, and council permits often do not transfer.

A coffee van business is three things sold together: a vehicle and espresso machine that a lender can value, a set of routes or bookings that the vendor says are worth money, and a council permit that may not move to you. That is why a fitted caravan can ask $19,000 while three vans on a 40-stop weekday route ask $269,000. This guide sets out what nine open listings across four states ask, what the price is made of, what vans turn over and net where vendors publish it, the permit rules, and how the purchase is funded.

What coffee van businesses sell for

Buyers are usually baristas going out on their own, who want a route; cafe owners adding a mobile arm, who want a fitted van and event work; and event caterers, who want a trailer with bookings. If you are weighing a fixed shop instead, read our guide to buying a cafe. To build a van from scratch, see what a food truck costs.

Coffee vans are thinly listed. BusinessForSale's coffee van category showed 26 listings on 22 October 2026, but five were buyers wanting a van, and after removing duplicates, cafes and food trucks we counted about nine coffee van, trailer or caravan businesses, one marked sold. The table covers seven of them plus two on Bsale. Figures are the vendor's, indicative market data and not Ventas offers.

Three things stand out. Price follows the route, not the vehicle. Melbourne's three-van weekday route asks $269,000, the Byron Bay cart asks $59,000, and the Golden Beach caravan, sold without a business, asks $19,000. Few listings come with a right to trade. Only Carlingford mentions a council-approved site, and for one van, so most buyers must secure somewhere to park. Profit is rarely published. Only Melbourne and Carlingford give profit figures, and The Rocks gives ranges, so treat the table as a list of questions for the vendor, not a price list.

What the price is made of

A coffee van price splits into the vehicle, fitted equipment, goodwill and stock. Lenders value the van and machine at what a used buyer would pay, not at the vendor's number.

Three checks before you accept the split. What is included. The Rocks lists the coffee machine as exclusive, Brisbane CBD does not itemise its vehicle, and Brunswick does not itemise its equipment. GST. Brunswick's $48,000 is plus GST because it is a chattel sale, about $52,800 with GST (our arithmetic). Most listings do not say, so ask each seller and ask your accountant. The vehicle. Ask for the registration, VIN, service history and roadworthy, gas and electrical certificates.

What a coffee van turns over and nets

Only Melbourne and Carlingford publish profit figures, and both are the vendor's.

Bsale says mobile food and coffee van businesses are appraised on a multiple of the owner's net profit, with the cost of the vehicle taken into account and some weight on whether the van stays put or moves. We found no published market multiple for coffee vans, so the range above comes from two listings and is a sanity check, not a rule.

Test the profit three ways. Ask whether it is before or after an owner's wage: Melbourne's margin works out at 38 per cent (our arithmetic) with four staff on the books. Reconcile it to lodged BAS, bank statements and card terminal reports. And ask how much depends on the vendor. Melbourne offers a month of handover and Byron Bay includes training, but a route that rests on the vendor's personal relationships can leave with them.

Permits, sites and what does not transfer

A coffee van needs the right to trade somewhere. Councils issue public-land permits one council area at a time, and the permit is the part buyers most often assume comes with the van. Fees below are as published on 22 October 2026 and differ by council.

Private sites, such as an office car park or a market, depend on written agreements with the site owner or organiser. Ask whether they pass to you or are personal to the vendor. The Brisbane region trailer cites about $300,000 in confirmed 2026 bookings, which are worth money only if the organisers accept you. Make settlement conditional on your own permit or on signed site agreements.

Mobile does not mean no rent. An inner Sydney van listing, now under contract, shows $200 a week for storage, charging and fridges (Bsale 685832). Ask where the van is kept and charged.

Financing a coffee van purchase

Lenders treat the pieces of a coffee van sale very differently. The van and machine are tangible, have a resale market and can be registered on the PPSR, so equipment finance is the usual way to fund them. Goodwill is harder. It rests on a route, host sites or bookings that the vendor controls, and on a permit that may not move to you. CreditorWatch measured a 12.03 per cent closure rate for cafes, restaurants and takeaway businesses in the 12 months to July 2026, against 6.69 per cent across all industries. Expect to fund part of the goodwill yourself, and note that some lenders will not write a separate acquisition loan for a small goodwill amount. Ventas is a finance broker, not a lender, so we do not quote rates here. They change with the lender, the security and the file.

Illustrative only, subject to lender assessment. A single-van route business at a $120,000 asking price:

And how it is typically funded across lender types:

Lender debt in the first two rows is $65,000, a little over half the asking price. Equipment finance is valued on what the used van and machine would resell for, which can be less than the vendor allocates. A property-backed loan can fund the gap, or most of the purchase, because the lender relies on the property instead of the van. The cost is that your property is at risk if the business fails.

What makes a coffee van deal fundable:

• Trading evidence. Two years of BAS, bank statements and card terminal reports that match the vendor's turnover and profit.
• Right to trade. A council permit in your name, or signed site agreements and event contracts that pass to you.
• The vehicle. Registration, VIN and compliance certificates, at a price the lender can support.
• Your experience. Barista or hospitality experience, plus a vendor handover.
• Security. Property, cash or other equipment you can put in.
• Owner dependence. Customers who stay when the vendor leaves.

To get a number from Ventas, send the listing and what is included, the split between vehicle, equipment and goodwill, two years of BAS, the permit or site agreements, your experience and the security you can offer. Start at business acquisition finance, see food truck finance, or read how to finance a coffee machine on its own. Finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Figures are indicative market data from the sources listed, not Ventas offers, and move with the market. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a professional. All finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This article is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Ventas Asset Lending is a finance broker, not a lender. Approvals are subject to lender assessment. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a qualified professional, including your accountant for any tax questions.