DUBLIN, Calif. – More of California’s small and mid-sized businesses were sold in October than in any month for the year, with 1,384 completed transactions.

The total was ahead of the October 2009 figure of 1,314, and represented a substantial increase over the 888 deals concluded during September 2010, according to figures released by BizBen.com, which tracks monthly sales by county in California.

The boost results from “greater certainty on the part of entrepreneurs in California – largely because we’re starting to see lenders making funds available to complete deals,” according to Peter Siegel, MBA, founder and chief executive officer of BizBen.com.

Many of the state’s largest counties showed increases in sales last month compared to the same month last year.

Los Angeles County recorded 385 transactions, an up-tick of nearly 2 percent; San Francisco registered 84 transactions, a boost of nearly 38 percent; and there were 128 completed transactions in Orange County last month, which topped the county’s October 2009 figure by 29 percent.

“We’ve suffered a pretty severe credit drought the past couple of years, but with a more positive reception from business lending institutions these past few weeks, we’re starting to put entrepreneurs together with SBA-backed lenders,” said Siegel.

He pointed out, “It’s not just buyers whom we encourage to get SBA pre-qualified if they want to be in a strong position to negotiate, and want to be able to move quickly when they find the right business. We also tell owners/sellers to get their businesses pre-qualified. When a business opportun ity hits the market with built-in financing, the chances of multiple offers and a successful sale go way up.”

Siegel said right after late September, when the Small Business Jobs and Credit legislation became law, “the phone started ringing, with calls from lenders ready to do business, and individuals wanting access to borrowed funds and asking how to get their SBA loan applications together.”

The BizBen Index October report on the sale of small businesses in California, by county, (available at http://www.bizben.com/stats/stats-monthly-oct.php) is as follows: Alameda: 53, Amador: 1, Butte: 5, Contra Costa: 31, El Dorado: 8, Fresno: 41, Imperial: 4, Kern: 24, Los Angeles: 385, Marin: 4, Merced: 9, Monterey: 21, Napa: 8, Nevada: 3, Orange: 128, Placer: 16, Riverside: 62, Sacramento: 26, San Bernardino: 62, San Diego: 129, San Francisco: 84, San Joaquin: 18, San Luis Obispo: 12, San Mateo: 41, Santa Barbara: 23, Santa Clara: 51, Santa Cruz: 13, Shasta: 8, Solano: 7, Sonoma: 28, Stanislaus: 13, Sutter: 10, Tehama: 4, Tulare: 21, Tuolumne: 1, Ventura: 21, Yolo: 9.

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