Who Are the Best Business Brokers in Tampa, FL?

The best business broker in Tampa depends on what your business could sell for. Under about $2 million, a local or franchise brokerage usually fits. From $2 million to $50 million, look for a firm that runs a more formal sale. If your business is online, a specialist who only sells digital companies is a better fit.

Axial’s directory lists 25 Tampa business brokers. That’s a lot of calls to make. This page covers seven firms that serve Tampa Bay, what brokers charge, and what to ask before you sign.

On this page

• How to pick the right Tampa broker for your size
• What Tampa business brokers charge
• What the Tampa market looks like
• Seven Tampa Bay firms to compare
• The firms side by side
• Selling a trade business in Tampa Bay
• What is your business worth?
• How to hire a Tampa broker

How to pick the right Tampa broker for your size

Start with the price your business could sell for, not the brand name. The IBBA’s quarterly Market Pulse survey splits sales into Main Street (under $2 million) and lower middle market ($2 million to $50 million). It reports the smaller group as a multiple of owner earnings and the larger group as a multiple of EBITDA (IBBA Market Pulse, Q4 2025). Most brokers fit one group better than the other.

Sale price	Usual fit	Ask each firm
Under $2 million	A local or franchise brokerage	How many businesses in my trade have you sold?
$2 million to $50 million	A lower-middle-market advisor	Who writes the sale materials, and how do you choose buyers?
Online business	A specialist in digital companies	How do you value traffic and recurring revenue?

No list can tell you which person at a firm has sold businesses like yours. That’s the question that matters most: same trade, same size, same kind of buyer. The Owner’s Shortlist can get you matched with a broker who fits, so you don’t have to run that search yourself.

What Tampa business brokers charge

Most Tampa business brokers charge a success fee, paid when the sale closes. Published sources put it near 10 percent for small sales. Larger sales usually pay a lower percentage.

• Success fee: One broker guide says the commission “can range from 5% to 12% or more, but the industry standard is around 10%” (Robbinex). Website Closers puts it at “4%-10%” and says sellers can negotiate the fee in advance (Website Closers).
• Upfront fees: Some brokers charge listing, marketing or retainer fees. Ask whether any upfront money is credited against the commission at closing (Robbinex).
• Tampa brokers: Axial’s Tampa directory lists the typical fee as “Primarily Success Fee” (Axial).
• License: Florida’s broker definition covers anyone who negotiates the sale of “business enterprises or business opportunities” (Fla. Stat. 475.01). A person “may not operate as a broker or sales associate without being the holder of a valid and current active license” (Fla. Stat. 475.42).

Look up any broker on the state’s license search before you sign. For sliding scales, minimum fees and tail periods, read our guide to what Florida business brokers charge.

What the Tampa market looks like

A typical Tampa area business for sale is small. In Q3 2025, the median listing in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area had an asking price of $350,000, per BizBuySell’s listing data.

• Active listings: 1,093
• Median asking price: $350,000
• Median revenue: $620,482
• Median cash flow: $150,000

These are asking prices on listings, not closed sales (BizBuySell Q3 2025 Insight Report, as summarized by a Southwest Florida broker). Your own number depends on your trade, your profit and how much the business needs you.

Axial’s Tampa directory lists the top sectors by activity as Technology (36%), Business Services (18%), Consumer Goods (14%), Industrials (13%) and Healthcare (5%) (Axial). That’s activity on Axial’s platform, not all Tampa sales. If you own a trade business, ask each firm how many of its recent sales were in your trade.

Two examples show how far one office’s reach can run. Murphy’s Tampa Bay office is in Clearwater and lists Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Brandon, Lutz, Oldsmar, Riverview, Valrico and Seffner (Murphy). Sunbelt’s Tampa office has pages for St. Petersburg, South Tampa, Clearwater and Brandon (Sunbelt). The office address matters less than whether the broker has sold a business like yours.

Seven Tampa Bay firms to compare

This is not a ranking. Each firm is listed for what it says it does, with numbers you can check. Where a number is the firm’s own claim, we say so.

Sunbelt Business Brokers, Tampa

Sunbelt is a national network, and its footer says each office is “independently owned and operated.” Its Tampa page says it serves companies with “annual revenues of $100K to $50 Million” and claims “a 95% close rate since inception” (Sunbelt Tampa). Ask how Sunbelt counts that rate.

The page lists a broker’s opinion of value, buyer search and a valuation request form. As of October 31, 2026, its featured listings included a Gulf Coast roofing brand, a commercial landscaping company and an architectural millwork manufacturer.

Practical rule: A network gives you reach. The person assigned to your sale still decides the result, so interview that person.

Murphy Business Sales, Tampa Bay

Murphy’s Tampa Bay office is at 407 N. Belcher Road in Clearwater. Its site lists selling and buying businesses, valuations, mergers and acquisitions, and equipment appraisals. It doesn’t state a minimum or maximum deal size (Murphy).

Axial lists 178 total closed deals for Murphy Business & Financial Corporation (Axial profile). That count covers the whole company, not only Tampa Bay. Ask who on the Tampa Bay team will run your sale.

Viking Mergers & Acquisitions

Viking’s Axial profile says its brokers have closed sales on “900+ businesses” since 1996, with headquarters in Charlotte and Tampa, in deals “from $1 million to $100 million.” Those are the firm’s own numbers. Axial lists 18 total closed deals for Viking.

Firms that work on larger sales usually ask more of you up front: clean books, a clear story and records a buyer can check. Ask which of Viking’s past sales were in your trade.

Benchmark International

Benchmark’s Tampa office page gives an address of 4030 West Boy Scout Blvd, Suite 500, and refers to its “new Tampa headquarters” (Benchmark). It is an M&A advisory firm, so it usually fits larger or more complex sales.

We didn’t find a stated deal-size range on the pages we checked. Ask for the smallest sale it takes on before you spend time on a meeting.

Transworld Business Advisors

Transworld shows up twice in Axial’s Tampa directory. Transworld M&A Advisors says it works on companies “valued between $5 million and $100 million” and lists 4 total closed deals (Axial profile). Transworld Business Advisors, Central Florida shows no reported closed transactions on Axial (Axial profile).

That only reflects Axial’s platform. At any large network, quality can differ from one advisor to the next. Ask for the advisor’s name and their recent sales in your trade.

First Choice Business Brokers, Tampa Bay

First Choice’s Tampa Bay site describes “Expert Buyer and Seller Services for Sales of Main Street and Middle Market Businesses” and lists an office at 401 East Jackson Street, Suite 2340, in Tampa (First Choice). The network claims “278 Business Brokers” and “130 Territories Served” across North America. Axial shows no reported closed transactions for the Tampa Bay office.

A guided process can help a first-time seller. Still ask for the broker’s recent sales in your trade.

Website Closers

Website Closers sells digital businesses. Its site says it handles deals from $500,000 to $1 billion for businesses that touch “the digital space” (Website Closers). Axial’s Tampa directory lists it with 499 total closed deals (Axial profile).

It’s a niche fit. A Tampa HVAC or roofing company isn’t its lane.

The firms side by side

Firm	Type	Deal size the firm states	Source
Sunbelt Tampa	National network	Revenue of $100K to $50 million	Sunbelt Tampa
Murphy Tampa Bay	National brokerage organization	Not stated	Murphy
Viking M&A	Regional M&A and brokerage firm	$1 million to $100 million	Axial profile
Benchmark International	M&A advisory firm	Not stated	Benchmark
Transworld M&A Advisors	Network division for larger deals	Company value of $5 million to $100 million	Axial profile
First Choice Tampa Bay	National network	”Main Street and Middle Market”	First Choice
Website Closers	Digital business specialist	$500,000 to $1 billion	Website Closers

Selling a trade business in Tampa Bay

Trade businesses sell differently from other small businesses. Buyers look hard at your crew, your repeat customers and how much of the work depends on you. A broker who has sold your trade before knows what buyers ask.

These guides cover the trades we see most often:

• HVAC: best broker to sell your HVAC business in Florida
• Roofing: best broker to sell your roofing business in Florida
• Plumbing: best broker to sell your plumbing business in Florida
• Electrical: best broker to sell your electrical business in Florida
• Pest control: best broker to sell your pest control business in Florida
• Landscaping: best broker to sell your landscaping business in Florida
• Construction: best broker to sell your construction business in Florida
• Auto repair: best broker to sell your auto repair shop in Florida
• Manufacturing: best broker to sell your manufacturing business in Florida

What is your business worth?

Get a rough number before you call anyone. It tells you which kind of broker to call, and it keeps you from taking a lowball at face value. Start with how to estimate what your business is worth.

How to hire a Tampa broker

Talk to two or three firms before you pick one. Use the same list of questions with each.

1. Check the license. Look the broker up on the state’s license search.
2. Ask about your trade. How many businesses like yours has this person sold, and at what size?
3. Ask who does the work. Who writes the sale materials, who talks to buyers and who checks that buyers can pay?
4. Ask about buyers. How many buyers did the last three sales reach, and how many made offers?
5. Read the agreement. Check what the fee is figured on, how long the agreement lasts and what the tail period covers.

Our list of questions to ask a business broker goes deeper. For more on choosing, see our Finding the Right People guides.

Every firm above has a different lane. The Owner’s Shortlist is a free service that introduces you to one broker whose work fits your business. Get matched with the best broker in Tampa.