---
title: "14 Best Business Brokers in Seattle: Fees, Deal Sizes 2026"
lang: en
canonical_url: https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-ma-advisors-seattle
last_updated: 2026-10-19
published: 2026-10-19
category: [mergers-and-acquisitions]
author: "Marc Seitz"
summary: "A verified guide to 14 business brokers in Seattle, with typical deal sizes, focus sectors, fee structures, and the documents owners need before a sale."
---

# 14 Best Business Brokers in Seattle: Fees, Deal Sizes 2026

This guide lists 14 verified business brokers in Seattle and the wider Puget Sound region, with the deal sizes they handle, the sectors they focus on, and how fees are structured. Every firm here has an office in or immediately around the metro.

Seattle is an unusual brokerage market because three economies sit on top of each other: the software and cloud economy that produces SaaS companies and managed service providers, the older industrial base of aerospace suppliers, marine and seafood operators and specialty manufacturers, and the everyday service economy of construction trades, home services and healthcare practices.

Those three don't share advisors. A $900,000 auto repair shop in Ballard and a $40 million aerospace machining business in Kent are not the same transaction. IBA and Washington Business Brokers work the first end of that range; Cascadia Capital and Zachary Scott work the other. The buyer side is just as varied, with regional private equity chasing service businesses, out of state strategics chasing technology and industrial assets, and SBA backed searchers dominating the $1 million to $5 million band.

  Every adviser on this list will ask where your documents are going to live
  before they take the mandate. A **data room for Seattle M&A** is the
  permissioned workspace that holds your aerospace and defence supplier
  contracts, quality certifications and customer concentration schedules while
  several buyers review them at once.

The 14 firms below are the Seattle shortlist. The full [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors?market=Seattle) adds every other adviser we have researched, so you can widen to a neighbouring metro or narrow to your own industry.

## Quick list of business brokers in Seattle

- **IBA (International Business Associates)**: Oldest regional brokerage, founded 1975, $500,000 to $30 million.
- **Alexander Hutton**: Seattle boutique bank advising founders and family businesses.
- **Cascadia Capital**: Independent Seattle bank with industrials, healthcare and technology teams.
- **Zachary Scott**: Downtown Seattle advisor with seafood and manufacturing depth.
- **CLA Meridian Capital**: Long running practice covering consumer, industrials and technology.
- **Chinook Capital Advisors**: Kirkland sell side firm, $5 million to $100 million.
- **Corum Group**: Seattle technology M&A specialist founded in 1985.
- **Novelty Hill Capital**: Bellevue bank covering food and beverage, technology and industrials.
- **Liberty Ridge Advisors**: Seattle lower middle market bank for family businesses.
- **Exit Equity**: Edmonds based CBI certified brokerage with a banking style process.
- **Freeman Lundt**: Seattle and Tacoma sell side partnership operating since 1994.
- **Washington Business Brokers**: Seattle firm selling companies with $2 million to $30 million revenue.
- **Murphy Business Sales Greater Seattle**: Bothell office with an M&A division above $5 million.
- **First Choice Business Brokers Seattle Metro**: University District office, Main Street to middle market.

## How to get yes from business brokers in Seattle

Good brokers turn work down. A firm that closes eight or ten deals a year cannot spend six months on a business that will not sell, so the first meeting is as much them qualifying you as the reverse.

Clean books matter most. If personal expenses run through the company undocumented, or the last three tax returns disagree with the P&L, the broker knows diligence will fall apart. Add-backs are expected, but each needs a receipt behind it. Customer concentration is the other early question: if one account is 45 percent of revenue, say so first, because the buyer will find it anyway.

The third test is whether your document set is close to CIM ready. An owner who produces three years of financials, a lease and a customer list within a week signals a process that will move. A confidential sale also cannot run on emailed spreadsheets, so compare the [best virtual data rooms](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-virtual-data-rooms.md) before the broker asks how you plan to share files.

Have these ready before the first meeting:

1. Three years of tax returns plus a year to date P&L
2. A documented add-back schedule with support for each item
3. A revenue concentration summary by customer
4. Your lease, key contracts and any licence that transfers
5. An equipment and inventory list with values
6. An org chart showing which duties depend on you

Share that package as a trackable link rather than an attachment. You control who opens it, you can revoke access when a conversation ends, and you can see whether the broker actually read the financials before quoting a range.

_No credit card required._

## How to find business brokers in Seattle

Plenty of people in this metro call themselves a business broker, and the gap between the top and bottom of the market is wide. Work through the filters below before signing, because a listing agreement usually runs 6 to 12 months.

Start with deal size. A firm that sells $600,000 restaurants won't have the relationships for a $25 million industrial process. Ask what their last five closings were worth.

- **IBBA or M&A Source membership**: Both publish standards of practice and require continuing education.
- **CBI or M&AMI credential**: Exit Equity, Freeman Lundt and Washington Business Brokers hold these.
- **Industry specialisation**: Seafood, aerospace machining, managed IT and healthcare each have their own buyer pool.
- **Deal size band**: Match the firm's typical enterprise value to yours before anything else.
- **Fee structure**: Main Street brokers charge 8 to 12 percent; advisors add a $5,000 to $25,000 retainer.
- **Local buyer network**: A good advisor names regional private equity buyers in your sector unprompted.
- **SBA fluency**: Buyers using SBA 7(a) financing dominate the $1 million to $5 million band here.
- **Seller references**: Ask for two owners who sold in the last 18 months, and ask about diligence, not marketing.
- **Timeline honesty**: Expect 6 to 12 months to close, 30 to 90 days of it in due diligence.
- **Confidentiality process**: Ask how they gate the CIM when a competitor requests information.

## How to approach business brokers in Seattle

Treat broker selection as a short competitive process rather than one meeting. Talking to three or four firms usually changes your view of what the business is worth. Bring a two page written summary, because vague conversations produce vague opinions of value.

- **Shortlist by sector and size** below, then narrow to three or four firms.
- **Send a blind summary first**, with no company name, so you control when your identity is known.
- **Sign a mutual NDA** before releasing financials, even to a broker you expect to hire.
- **Ask for a written opinion of value** showing the multiple and the earnings base behind it.
- **Compare fees line by line**: retainer, success fee schedule, minimum fee and tail period.
- **Ask who actually runs your deal**, since the partner who pitches rarely answers buyer questions later.
- **Confirm how buyers get documents**, whether a shared drive or a data room with NDA gating.
- **Agree a weekly written update** on buyer activity before you sign.

| # | Firm | Typical deal size | Focus sectors |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | IBA | $500K to $30M | Manufacturing, marine, retail |
| 2 | Alexander Hutton | Middle market | Manufacturing, tech, healthcare |
| 3 | Cascadia Capital | Middle market and up | Industrials, healthcare, tech |
| 4 | Zachary Scott | Middle market | Seafood, agriculture, logistics |
| 5 | CLA Meridian Capital | Middle market | Consumer, industrials, software |
| 6 | Chinook Capital Advisors | $5M to $100M | Manufacturing, distribution |
| 7 | Corum Group | Technology deals | Software, internet, IT |
| 8 | Novelty Hill Capital | Middle market | Food, tech, industrials |
| 9 | Liberty Ridge Advisors | Lower middle market | Diversified, family owned |
| 10 | Exit Equity | Lower middle market | Manufacturing, home services |
| 11 | Freeman Lundt | Small and lower middle | Manufacturing, IT, medical |
| 12 | Washington Business Brokers | $2M to $30M revenue | Seafood, trades, auto |
| 13 | Murphy Business Greater Seattle | $5M and up in M&A | Sector agnostic |
| 14 | First Choice Seattle Metro | Main Street to mid market | Sector agnostic |

## 1. IBA (International Business Associates)

IBA is the longest established brokerage in the Pacific Northwest, working with privately held and family businesses across Washington, Oregon and Alaska. It runs on a pure success fee model, and its brokers are licensed real estate brokers, so they can handle deals where the premises transfer too.

- Deal size: $500,000 to $30 million
- Sectors: Manufacturing, distribution, construction, marine, retail, medical
- Location: Bellevue headquarters, with offices in Seattle, Everett and Olympia
- Website: [IBA](https://ibainc.com/)
- Notable: Founded 1975, more than 4,400 completed business sales

## 2. Alexander Hutton

Alexander Hutton is a boutique investment bank in the Smith Tower in downtown Seattle, working with entrepreneurs and family businesses on sell side M&A. The team is built largely from former operators, not career bankers.

- Deal size: Middle market transactions
- Sectors: Manufacturing, technology, business services, healthcare
- Location: 506 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA
- Website: [Alexander Hutton](https://alexanderhutton.com/)
- Notable: 234 completed transactions totalling $4.5 billion in value

## 3. Cascadia Capital

Cascadia Capital is one of the largest independent investment banks headquartered in Seattle, serving founder owned, family owned and sponsor backed companies. Its dedicated industry teams suit owners whose buyer universe is national rather than regional.

- Deal size: Middle market and above
- Sectors: Business services, consumer, energy transition, food, healthcare, industrials
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Website: [Cascadia Capital](https://www.cascadiacapital.com/)

## 4. Zachary Scott

Zachary Scott is a downtown Seattle M&A advisor working with privately held middle market companies on sell side, buy side and complex mandates. Its published work skews toward the region's resource economy, including Alaskan seafood, Yakima hops and food manufacturing.

- Deal size: Middle market
- Sectors: Seafood, agriculture, food manufacturing, logistics, industrials
- Location: 1200 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA
- Website: [Zachary Scott](https://www.zacharyscott.com/)

## 5. CLA Meridian Capital

Meridian Capital has advised Pacific Northwest owners for more than three decades and now operates as CLA Meridian Capital, split into consumer, industrials, and technology and services verticals.

- Deal size: Middle market
- Sectors: Consumer, food, aerospace and defence, construction, software
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Website: [CLA Meridian Capital](https://www.meridianib.com/)
- Notable: More than 30 years advising middle market owners

## 6. Chinook Capital Advisors

Chinook Capital Advisors works with privately held and family owned Pacific Northwest companies preparing for a sale. It publishes a regional deal report covering the $5 million to $100 million band and reaches international buyers through the Alliance of International Corporate Advisors.

- Deal size: $5 million to $100 million enterprise value
- Sectors: Manufacturing, distribution, business services, technology, healthcare
- Location: Carillon Point, Kirkland, WA
- Website: [Chinook Capital Advisors](https://chinookadvisors.com/)
- Notable: More than 100 team transactions, 80 percent close rate on sell side work

## 7. Corum Group

Corum Group is a Seattle headquartered investment bank working only on technology M&A, which makes it the obvious first call for a software or IT infrastructure company here. Its process runs off a proprietary buyer database rather than a listing portal.

- Deal size: Technology deals across horizontal, vertical and infrastructure software
- Sectors: Software, internet, IT infrastructure
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Website: [Corum Group](https://www.corumgroup.com/)
- Notable: Founded 1985, more than 500 closed technology transactions

## 8. Novelty Hill Capital

Novelty Hill Capital is a middle market investment bank in Bellevue's Skyline Tower advising on M&A, capital raises and strategic alternatives. It suits owners wanting a banker led process without a national platform.

- Deal size: Middle market
- Sectors: Food and beverage, technology, industrials, consumer products
- Location: 10900 NE 4th Street, Bellevue, WA
- Website: [Novelty Hill Capital](https://www.noveltyhill.com/)
- Notable: More than 100 transactions and over $5 billion in closed value in 15 years

## 9. Liberty Ridge Advisors

Liberty Ridge Advisors is a Seattle boutique investment bank working in the lower middle market with family and founder owned companies across a wide range of industries.

- Deal size: Lower middle market
- Sectors: Diversified, family and founder owned businesses
- Location: 500 Union Street, Seattle, WA
- Website: [Liberty Ridge Advisors](https://www.libertyra.com/)
- Notable: Ranked in Axial's Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks, 2019 to 2022

## 10. Exit Equity

Exit Equity brings a structured investment banking process to lower middle market deals while keeping the engagement owner focused. It's licensed in 47 states, but its roots and buyer network are in the Pacific Northwest and its home office is in Edmonds.

- Deal size: Lower middle market
- Sectors: Manufacturing, technology, professional services, home services
- Location: Edmonds, WA, plus Bozeman and Houston
- Website: [Exit Equity](https://exitequity.com/)
- Notable: Founded 2007, CBI certified with NACVA and CVA credentials

## 11. Freeman Lundt

Freeman Lundt is a sell side advisory partnership serving small business and lower middle market owners along the Seattle and Tacoma corridor. It also advises on commercial capital when a deal needs financing structured around it.

- Deal size: Small business and lower middle market
- Sectors: Manufacturing, IT, services, medical, transportation
- Location: Seattle and Tacoma, WA
- Website: [Freeman Lundt](https://www.freemanlundt.com/)
- Notable: Operating since 1994, CBI and CM&AA credentialled, IBBA and AM&AA member

## 12. Washington Business Brokers

Washington Business Brokers sells companies generating roughly $2 million to $30 million in revenue across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Its closed list is a snapshot of what actually trades here, from seafood and tree care to plumbing, roofing and car washes.

- Deal size: Companies with $2 million to $30 million revenue
- Sectors: Seafood, restoration, trades, restaurants, auto repair
- Location: 3213 W Wheeler St, Seattle, WA
- Website: [Washington Business Brokers](https://wabusinessbrokers.com/)
- Notable: CPA, CBI and CBA credentials on the team, IBBA member since 2020

## 13. Murphy Business Sales Greater Seattle

The Greater Seattle office of Murphy Business Sales sits in Bothell and covers the north end of the metro. It runs a Main Street practice plus a lower middle market division for enterprise values above $5 million, backed by the national network's buyers.

- Deal size: Main Street listings, plus an M&A division above $5 million
- Sectors: Sector agnostic
- Location: 19125 North Creek Parkway, Bothell, WA
- Website: [Murphy Business Greater Seattle](https://murphybusiness.com/greaterseattle/)

## 14. First Choice Business Brokers Seattle Metro

The Seattle Metro franchise of First Choice Business Brokers operates from the University District and handles Main Street and middle market listings, a reasonable starting point for smaller service and retail businesses.

- Deal size: Main Street to middle market
- Sectors: Sector agnostic, including retail and professional practices
- Location: 4500 9th Ave NE, Seattle, WA
- Website: [First Choice Business Brokers Seattle Metro](https://seattlemetro.fcbb.com/)
- Notable: IBBA member office in a network of 130 territories

## Why you need secure document sharing in a Seattle sale

A broker run sale is a confidentiality problem before it's a marketing problem. Diligence here pulls three years of tax returns and financials, the add-back schedule, customer concentration by account, the lease and equipment list, key contracts, and in the industrial economy the supplier file as well: purchase orders, quality certifications, first article approvals and any licence or quota that has to transfer. That's why serious brokers gate everything: a blind teaser, then an NDA, then the CIM.

The people asking for that file are frequently your competitors. The likely buyer for a Kent aerospace machining business is another machining business holding work on the same programmes, the likely buyer for a Ballard or Alaskan seafood processor is a processor competing for the same harvest and the same crews, and a managed service provider will usually be bought by a larger regional MSP already quoting your customers. A Puget Sound sector is small enough that everyone knows everyone, so twenty NDAs can mean five direct competitors reading your margins.

What a leak costs here is people and customers. Machinists, licensed technicians and senior engineers are scarce in this metro, and a rumour that the company is for sale sends them straight to the firm down the road. A prime contractor or a large grocery or food service customer who hears about a sale second hand starts hedging its supply, and in a licensed business the agency that has to approve a transfer would rather hear it from you first. Email attachments cannot be recalled, cannot be watermarked, and tell you nothing about who actually opened them.

## Data room for Seattle M&A

![granular permissions for buyers in a Seattle business sale data room](https://assets.papermark.io/upload/file_LkU4BNY6MKUKMgDucSzzFg-papermark-granular-permissions.png)

_File-level permissions let a broker show different buyers different parts of one data room._

A **data room for Seattle M&A** is the permissioned workspace where your broker stages the gated file and runs regional sponsors, out of state strategics and SBA backed searchers through it at once, without any of them seeing what the others see. It is what a broker means when they ask how buyers will get documents.

Papermark is a secure, fully customizable, and developer-friendly data room built for exactly this, with page-by-page analytics, dynamic watermarking and granular permissions. You can require an NDA before the CIM is visible, watermark every page with the viewer's email, and set file-level permissions so a strategic buyer sees the summary while a private equity buyer sees full customer detail. Access is revoked in one click.

The analytics change the broker relationship. Page-by-page tracking shows who opened the CIM, how long they spent on the customer concentration page, and who forwarded the link, which tells your broker who is real. The audit log records every view and permission change, and a [secure data room](https://www.papermark.com/data-room.md) keeps everything indexed when diligence requests arrive.

The [Data Rooms plan](https://www.papermark.com/pricing.md?view=datarooms) is **€149/month**, or **€99/month billed annually**, with a 7-day free trial, and includes 3 team members, unlimited data rooms, unlimited documents, a custom domain, dynamic watermarking, NDA agreements, and granular file-level permissions.

### Why Papermark as a data room provider for Seattle M&A

Most virtual data rooms were built for bankers and priced for them. Papermark is a **secure data room for modern dealmakers**, and it is more customizable and more branded than any other VDR on the market.

- **Security first.** SOC 2 Type II, granular file-level permissions, dynamic watermarking on every page, and NDA agreements that sit on the link itself.
- **Open source and self-hostable.** The codebase is public, and Enterprise can run it in your own environment, which matters when a buyer's IT team asks where the documents actually live.
- **Branded and white-labelled.** Custom domain and full white-labelling, so the room carries your firm's name rather than a vendor's.
- **AI and MCP.** 57 typed MCP tools over the Model Context Protocol let Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or your own code drive the room, plus a REST API for everything else.
- **Chat with your data room.** Papermark AI answers questions across the room and the documents in it, so you are not scrolling a folder tree to find one clause.
- **Built for Seattle deals.** Permissions are set per file, so the sensitive parts of the file can stay locked to final bidders while the general file stays open.

## Did not find the right business broker in Seattle?

Not every sale needs a broker. If you already have a buyer in mind, or want to map which private equity groups and strategic acquirers are active in your sector, start with the buyer universe.

If none of the fourteen above fits, the [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors) lists every firm we have researched by city and by industry, with deal sizes and sectors side by side. Filter to **Seattle** to compare these against each other, or check another market if you would rather work with a specialist elsewhere.

## FAQ

### How much do business brokers charge in Seattle?

Main Street brokers handling deals under about $1 million typically charge 8 to 12 percent of the sale price, with 10 percent the common rate. Lower middle market M&A advisors add a monthly retainer of $5,000 to $25,000 against a success fee.

### What percentage do business brokers take?

On smaller deals it is a straight percentage, commonly 10 percent, rising to 12 to 15 percent on the smallest listings. Above roughly $1 million most firms use a Double Lehman schedule: 10 percent of the first $1 million, 8 percent of the second, 6 percent of the third, 4 percent of the fourth and 2 percent above.

### Do business brokers need a licence in Washington?

Washington is among the states where a real estate licence is generally required to broker a business sale, and brokers must be licensed under chapter 18.85 RCW and affiliated with a licensed firm. That licence takes 90 hours of approved education plus the state exam. Confirm current rules with the Department of Licensing.

### How long does it take to sell a business in Seattle?

Plan on 6 to 12 months from engagement to closing. Due diligence alone runs 30 to 90 days after a signed letter of intent, and technology or licensed healthcare deals sit at the longer end.

### What is my business worth in Seattle?

Most small businesses trade at 2x to 4x seller's discretionary earnings, and IBBA Market Pulse put the median small business sale at roughly $350,000 at a 2.7x SDE multiple in Q1 2026. Companies valued between $5 million and $50 million tend to trade nearer 6.5x EBITDA.

### What is the difference between a business broker and an M&A advisor?

Brokers handle Main Street businesses under about $2 million on a listing model with a straight 8 to 12 percent commission. M&A advisors run a targeted process with a $5,000 to $25,000 retainer plus a success fee. Several Seattle firms do both, so ask which desk your deal sits on.

### Do business brokers charge an upfront fee?

Main Street brokers usually work on success fee only, and IBA for example states it is 100 percent paid on performance. Advisors on deals above roughly $5 million almost always charge a $5,000 to $25,000 monthly retainer, often credited against the success fee.

### Should a Seattle software company use a business broker or a tech focused bank?

For a software, SaaS or IT infrastructure company, a specialist such as Corum Group, which has closed more than 500 technology transactions since 1985, has buyer relationships a generalist does not. Generalist brokers fit IT resellers and managed service providers under about $2 million.

### What documents do I need to sell my business?

At minimum three years of tax returns and financial statements, a year to date P&L, an add-back schedule, your lease, an equipment list, key contracts and a customer concentration summary. Having these ready is the difference between a 30 day and a 90 day diligence phase.

### How do brokers screen buyers in the Seattle market?

Standard practice is a signed NDA, a buyer profile and proof of funds before the CIM is released. Because many $1 million to $5 million deals here use SBA 7(a) financing, brokers often ask for a lender pre-qualification letter early rather than after a letter of intent.

## Related resources

- [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors) with every firm we have researched, by city and by industry
- [Papermark data room](https://www.papermark.com/data-room.md) for sharing deal documents under NDA
- [Best virtual data rooms](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-virtual-data-rooms.md) to compare providers
- [M&A due diligence checklist](https://www.papermark.com/blog/m-and-a-due-diligence-checklist.md) of what buyers request
- [Sell side due diligence](https://www.papermark.com/blog/sell-side-due-diligence.md) before you go to market
- [Letter of intent in an acquisition](https://www.papermark.com/blog/letter-of-intent-acquisition.md) and what it triggers
- [Selling to private equity](https://www.papermark.com/blog/selling-to-private-equity-yes-or-no.md) as a financial buyer route

---

_Markdown version of [this article](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-ma-advisors-seattle) for AI agents and LLMs._
_More Papermark content: [llms.txt](https://www.papermark.com/llms.txt) · [full index](https://www.papermark.com/llms-full.txt)._