What it costs to buy an earthmoving business in Australia

Australian earthmoving businesses are listed from $160,000 for a small hire franchise resale, machines extra, to $7.5m or more for a civil contractor. Where a listing states a fleet value, the machines are 53 to 59 per cent of the asking price, so market valuations of the plant and the quality of the contracts drive what you pay.

An earthmoving business is two assets sold together: a fleet that has a resale market, and the goodwill of contracts, crews and customers that does not. That is why a Hobart business with all its machinery asks $400,000 while a Brisbane civil contractor asks over $7.5m, and why a hire business is priced differently from a contractor with a council panel. This guide sets out what 13 live listings across six states ask, how the price splits between fleet and goodwill, the contract and licence checks, the duty and costs on top, and how the purchase is funded.

What earthmoving businesses sell for

Hire businesses sell a fleet and a customer list. Contractors sell crews, contracts and a fleet. For machine values, see our excavator price guide and civil equipment cost guide, and for hire utilisation read buying an equipment hire business. The table surveys live listings on Bsale, AnyBusiness, BusinessForSale and LINK Business on 22 October 2026. Figures are the vendor's, indicative market data and not Ventas offers. Asking prices are not sale prices. PEBITDA is the brokers' term for proprietor's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

Four things stand out. What the price includes varies: Ormeau excludes its machines, Bendigo sells older plant separately, Port Lincoln prices the freehold on top, and North Perth's price includes about $480,000 of machinery. Fleet size, not turnover, anchors the price: Hobart asks $400,000 with every machine included, while the Gold Coast heavy haulage business says its fleet alone is worth over $6m. Only five of the 13 listings show an earnings figure, and most release financials after a confidentiality agreement. And only Ormeau names its machines, so the itemised fleet list is the first document to ask for. Treat the table as a list of questions, not a price list.

How the price splits between fleet and goodwill

Brokers price a contractor on earnings, then test the result against what the fleet would fetch. Aviaan Accounting, a valuation adviser, says plant should be valued at market value rather than book value, and that an asset-only approach often undervalues a contracting business. Get an independent valuation of every machine and truck: whatever the price sits above that total is goodwill. Ratios below are our arithmetic from each listing's own figures.

Where a fleet value is stated it is 53 to 59 per cent of the price, which leaves about 41 to 47 per cent for goodwill, stock and contracts. Four listings ask 2.3 to 3.4 times the earnings they show, but the earnings are labelled differently and one is a projection, so compare them loosely. Two cautions. The Brisbane civil listing's asset figure is an insured value, not an independent valuation, and it mentions about $3.5 million of asset loans without saying how they are cleared. And on the Gold Coast, the stated fleet value is over three times 2024 EBITDA, so the machines are likely to be most of the unpublished price.

Contracts, panels and licences

The listings split into two models. Hire businesses (Gold Coast, Hobart) sell mostly a fleet and a customer list, so utilisation by machine sets the value. Contractors (the WA panel business, Port Lincoln, the two Brisbane listings) sell crews, contracts and a track record. The WA listing says it is a preferred supplier on the WALGA panel and that current contracts will be novated to the buyer, and the Brisbane concrete and civil listing says no customer is above 10 per cent of revenue. Ask for the contract register, the order book and revenue by customer, and get novation consent from each council or principal in writing.

Prequalification belongs to the company. Victoria's Department of Transport and Planning keeps a register of prequalified companies by group, category and level, and the Bendigo listing carries R2 and F5 for road and bridge work. Because the register lists companies, an asset-only purchase would not carry the registration across. For a share purchase, ask the agency in writing whether a change of ownership triggers a reassessment before you sign.

Contractor licences stay with the licensee. In Queensland a QBCC licence is held by the licensee, so an asset buyer needs its own, while in a share sale the company keeps its licence and a director or nominee change must be notified within 14 days. The Brisbane concrete and civil listing says the buyer needs the right QBCC contractor licence and that transitional nominee support may be available. Check which licences apply in your state.

Operator tickets matter less than the operators. WorkSafe Victoria says you do not need a high risk work licence to run earthmoving equipment such as an excavator, although cranes, forklifts and elevating work platforms do need one. The real risk is losing the people who run the machines, so ask who the key operators are and whether they stay. Hobart offers three to six months of handover, North Perth two months at a fee.

Duty and other costs on top

The asking price is rarely the cheque. Transfer duty depends on the state and on what the contract transfers. Queensland lists goodwill and personal property such as plant and trading stock as dutiable business assets. New South Wales charges no duty on goodwill or stock and treats road-registered vehicles as outside duty, though registration is still payable; plant and equipment attract duty only when the same agreement transfers other dutiable property such as land. Western Australia treats plant and equipment as dutiable when sold with a business, deals with vehicles separately under vehicle licence duty, and has a concessional rate form for dutiable value of $200,000 or less. A freehold, as at Port Lincoln, brings duty on the land. Write the split between goodwill, plant, vehicles and stock into the contract and confirm duty with your accountant.

Also budget for stock such as fuel and parts, an independent fleet valuation, a PPSR search on each serial number, legal and accounting due diligence, registration transfers, insurance, and working capital, because contractors wait for invoices to be paid while wages and finance fall due. Ormeau's price is quoted plus GST, so check the GST basis on every listing.

Financing an earthmoving business purchase

Lenders are comfortable with the machines and cautious about the goodwill. Excavators, loaders and trucks have an active resale market, so equipment finance, commonly a chattel mortgage over one to seven years, lends against each machine's market value. Goodwill has no resale value, contracts can end and earnings often depend on the owner, so lenders want property or other security behind it, or a larger share from you. Plant bought in a private sale can stall a file, bringing a valuation order or a haircut to the invoice, and lenders favour mainstream brands with sensible hours. 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 realistic purchase at a $1,200,000 asking price:

And how it is typically funded across lender types:

Debt here is $750,000, 62.5 per cent of the asking price (our arithmetic), and the fleet carries most of it because it finances against itself. Existing fleet debt. Say the seller owes $400,000 on three machines. On a debt-free price, settlement pays that out of the purchase money, the seller's lender releases its PPSR registration and your equipment finance goes on clean, leaving the seller $800,000 before tax. If you take the machines subject to their finance, that lender must agree and the balance owing comes off the cash you pay. Goodwill. Half is funded by the acquisition loan and the rest comes from you. A property-backed loan secured on a home or other property can fund your share, or more, because the lender relies on the property, at the cost of putting that property at risk. Buying the freehold too, as at Port Lincoln, usually makes funding easier: see finance a business and its freehold together.

What makes an earthmoving deal fundable:

• Fleet evidence. An itemised list with make, model, year, hours and serial numbers, an independent valuation and clean PPSR searches.
• Trading history. Two to three years of financials that reconcile to lodged BAS and bank statements.
• Contracts. No single customer carrying the business, with licences and prequalification confirmed.
• Your experience. Running civil crews or plant, preferably in the same kind of work.
• Security and handover. Property or cash you can put in, and operators who stay.

To get a number from Ventas, send the asking price and the vendor's split between fleet, goodwill and stock, the itemised fleet list with any finance owing, two to three years of financials and BAS, the contract register, and the security you can offer. Start at earthmoving finance, see business acquisition finance, or check how age limits on used equipment finance work. 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.