Your permit is part of what you're selling

Article

In short

• When you sell a venue, you're selling what the next owner is allowed to do with it. That comes down to your liquor licence and planning permit.
• Buyers usually want to change something: the menu, the hours, functions or live music. If the permit won't allow it, they offer less or walk away.
• The more restrictive the permit, the fewer buyers it suits, and fewer buyers usually means a lower price.
• Broader permissions cost nothing day to day. Getting them before you list keeps the sale moving.

Buyers are buying the future, not the past

When you sell a hospitality business, you're not just selling the fit-out, the equipment and the goodwill. You're selling what the next owner is allowed to do with it. That comes down to your liquor licence and planning permit.

Most new owners don't buy a venue to run it exactly the way you did. They have their own ideas: a different menu, a new crowd, functions, live music, earlier opening, later closing. That's normal, and it's often why they're buying.

Now imagine your permit only allows trading within tight hours, or limits how and where alcohol can be served. If that doesn't line up with where the buyer wants to take the business, the question in their head is simple: if I can't do what I want with this venue, where's the value in it for me?

At that point, they either walk away, offer less, or factor in the cost, time and uncertainty of trying to change the permit after they buy.

Restrictions shrink your pool of buyers

The more restrictive your permit, the fewer people the business suits. A flexible permit appeals to a wide range of operators with different plans. A tight one only appeals to someone who wants to run the venue almost exactly as it runs today.

Fewer interested buyers means less competition, and less competition usually means a lower price.

Get the flexibility before you need it

This is where many owners miss an opportunity. You don't need to use extra trading hours or broader permissions to benefit from having them.

There are two ways to approach it:

1. Review a permit that's overly restrictive. Look at whether conditions can be varied or removed. Some older conditions may no longer apply at all. Since 1 July 2025, a planning permit is no longer needed for liquor, and it's our position that conditions that related solely to that old requirement no longer have effect. See VC286: what changed for venues on 1 July 2025.
2. Apply for broader permissions up front, even for hours or uses you don't plan to use straight away.

Having those options on paper costs you nothing day to day. It means the business is ready for whatever comes next, whether that's you changing direction or a buyer bringing their own plans.

We've seen why this matters

Nobody expected the whole state to go into lockdown. Nobody planned for a time when venues couldn't trade the way they always had. But it happened.

During that period, venues with less restrictive permits and licences had more room to move. Depending on what they were allowed to do, they could sell takeaway liquor, open early for coffee and takeaway food, or move trade outdoors. Venues locked into tight conditions were far more limited in how they could respond.

Flexibility isn't just about selling. It's about being able to adapt to changes you can't see coming, and that resilience is exactly what a smart buyer is looking for.

Before you sell, check what you're really selling

If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, now is the time to look at your permit and licence:

• What do my current hours and conditions actually allow?
• Would they suit a buyer with different plans to mine?
• Are any conditions outdated or no longer needed?
• What could I add now that would make the business more attractive later?

Varying a permit or licence takes time, so it's far better to do it well before the business goes on the market than to scramble mid-sale.

How Plan2Pour can help

We review liquor licences and planning permits to find the restrictions that could be limiting your business's value, and we help owners vary or broaden them before a sale. If you're thinking about selling, or just want to know where you stand, email hello@plan2pour.com.au or call (03) 7064 8477.

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