Business Brokers Celebrate with the 2021 AIBB Awards

by Vanessa Lovie 1st of September, 2021

2021 AIBB Awards for Business Brokers

The AIBB recently held their Annual Awards Ceremony to recognise business brokers who have excelled in the past 12 months. With 20 categories up for nomination, there were business brokers recognised from across Australia.

It has been a tough year for the business broking profession with forced lockdowns, border closures and a cancelled AIBB conference for the second consecutive year. Business owners have been hesitant to sell and buyers have been cautious, add in lenders restricting finance approvals and you have an interesting dynamic. Despite the challenges, business brokers learnt how to adapt and navigate their clients through to settlement in this ever-changing environment.

The 2021 AIBB Awards provided an excellent opportunity for business brokers to reflect on the past 12 months and their amazing achievements. Learning to adapt during COVID-19 restrictions, brokers have continued to learn new ways of doing business and helping their clients.

Business Broker of the Year Awards 2021

2021 AIBB Business Broker Awards

Representing each state, business brokers had to demonstrate their ability to successfully transact at least 5 business sales in the 2021 financial year to be eligible. Committed to improving their skills and developing their career, the winning business brokers are the leaders in their profession and driven to achieve results for their clients.

National Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 - Shane Fox
Rising Star Award 2021 - Sumit Vishal
The VIC Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Fred Samoun
The NSW Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Shane Fox
The QLD Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Roland West
The SA Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Brett Buckley
The WA Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Catherine Jones

Winning his second consecutive National Business Broker of the year award Shane Fox from Merchant Business Sales has successfully sold at least 10 businesses in the 2021 financial year and is grateful for the support he has received from his team.

“I am deeply humbled to be awarded National Business Broker of the Year and want to thank the team at Merchant Business Brokers for their support and friendship throughout a very different year for our industry." Shane Fox, Merchant Business Brokers

National Business Broker of the Year - Shane Fox

It is clear that Business Brokers welcomed this opportunity to celebrate with their colleagues after a tumultuous year.

"It’s an absolute honour to be awarded the AIBB VIC business broker of the year for 2021, thank you to all members, sponsors, committees and board of the AIBB for their tremendous support throughout this challenging period." Fred Samoun, Paramount Business Brokers

"I am honoured to have been recognised for my contribution to the business broking industry as the AIBB Queensland Business Broker of the Year 2021. Despite the many obstacles being thrown our way from COVID over the past year, it has provided a great opportunity to review the way we operate and implement new processes. It has been very rewarding to be in a position to help all my clients within my business transactions this year. I am a big believer that a perfect deal is one that produces a great result for both a buyer and seller. I look forward to continuing to contribute to the business broking industry by remaining innovative and adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the market." Roland West - LINK Brisbane

"Winning these awards is only made possible by the support I receive from my family and our team at Ray White Business Sales. I would like to thank all of those who have worked with me over the past year for their support and encouragement. I would also like to thank our vendors and purchasers, for having the trust in us as a team to produce the exceptional outcomes that we have over the past year." Brett Buckley - Ray White Business Sales SA and NT.

Specialist Business Broker of the Year Awards 2021

AIBB Specilaist Business Broker Awards 2021

Business Brokers who decide to specialise are recognised for their success in advising and guiding business owners in a chosen industries, such as medical, beauty or automotive.

Bradley Potter from Healthlinc was award National Specialist Business Broker of the Year and WA Business Broker of the year.

The winning state business brokers have demonstrated their ability to achieve the best results for their clients. They have successfully transacted at least 5 businesses in the 2021 financial year.

National Specialist Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Bradley Potter
The NSW Specialist Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Sally Stuart
The SA Specialist Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Nikki Katz
The QLD Specialist Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – John Kasapi
The WA Specialist Business Broker of the Year Award 2021 – Bradley Potter

Winning two years as the specialist business broker of NSW, Sally Stuart is a true leader and passionate about helping her clients to succeed. With her clients predominately GPS’s and Physicians, they have been on the front line dealing with the COVID outbreak.

“I was very delighted to receive the recognition from the AIBB in August 2021 that I was the NSW Specialist broker of the year for 2021 as I had won the award in 2019 and wanted to win it again, especially for the COVID year as I felt like I had to work so much harder for it during the pandemic.” Sally Stuart, LINK Sydney

“The sales were less in number, and the total sales were less overall, but the recognition probably meant more to me this year as my vendors were more stressed, getting financial approval was harder, and lease assignment approvals took longer. The year taught me to be more patient, empathetic and understanding with my buyers and sellers due to what my sector had to go through WRT being up to date daily with the Govt changes that were rolled out seemingly with scant regard for implementation or commercial acumen.” Sally Stuart, LINK Sydney

Nikki Katz was overjoyed with the results and expressed how proud she is of this profession.

“I am so happy to be a part of these awards and a huge thank you to the AIBB for awarding me the SA Specialist Business Broker of the Year Award. Winning awards like these can only highlight the dedication & standards of all our professional brokers in our industry, which in turn hopefully raises awareness of the integrity and competency of Business Brokers across Australia.” Nikki Katz

Service Awards

AIBB Service Award Winners - Nikki Katz and Rajiv Rajan

The AIBB is committed to providing its members with ongoing training and an inclusive community so they can meet and learn from one another. The Service Award acknowledges members commitment to the AIBB in each state.

National Chair Service Award 2021 - Nikki Katz and Rajiv Rajan
VIC Chapter Service Award 2021 - Fred Samoun
NSW Chapter Service Award 2021- Sally Stuart
QLD Chapter Service Award 2021 - Helen Gordon
SA Chapter Service Award 2021 - Melanie Winter
WA Chapter Service Award 2021 - Rajiv Rajan
Education & Training Service Award 2021 - Stephen Wray
Education and Training Facilitator Award for 2021 - Zoe Mclaren

"I was surprised to say the least, to receive the President's Award for 2021. An unsolicited, peer-reviewed award means a lot to me, I remain humbled by the recognition. I've been a Certified Practising Business Broker in WA for more than 10 years, with the AIBB playing an instrumental role in my ongoing skills and competency development. I encourage all Business Brokers and Business Valuers in Australia and New Zealand to join the AIBB." Rajiv Rajan - Ardent Business Sales and Valuations

Organising events that enhance the relationship between members has been at the heart of the AIBB, as Helen shares her involvement and appreciation.

"As a member of the AIBB I have been on the QLD committee for a year. Events that I have organised throughout the year have brought together the members of the Qld chapter in a variety of settings, networking breakfasts, Xmas gathering, a formal AGM with a cocktail offer, a brilliant Ambrose golf day and just last night the 29th of August a very social gathering for a twilight brisbane river cruise on board the famous Yot club party boat. All of these gatherings have proved very popular with the members and with Covid in our midst, they have given us some social freedoms, which have been much needed. The award was not on my radar but duly appreciated." Helen Gordon, ABS Business Sales

Training and development has been a core focus of AIBB over the past few years, with 46 programs and over 1136 participants in the last 12 months, the AIBB is committed to enhancing the education of business brokers.

"Thank you for the Education & Training Service Award 2021. The AIBB offers practical based training and accreditation to both Business Broker's & Business Valuer's. I am happy to be a part of the Education team." Stephen Wray - Cornerstone Business Brokers

Appreciating the Supporting Team

Winning an award is a very heartwarming feeling for the entrant. Though they realise it takes a team to support and guide these transactions, with many brokers expressing their gratitude to their teams and allied professionals who assist with the business sale.

“I am grateful for the support of the office team, the accountants who have prepared the documentation for my vendors and the lawyers for their involvement in each and every sale that occurs. I would also like to say a big ‘shout out’ to the financiers who are involved in approving and releasing loans, business consultants who assist business owners to build their businesses up and IT people for ensuring that the information flows are seamless. It takes a team to sell a business and I couldn’t do that I do without my team behind me supporting me throughout each transaction." - Sally Stuart, LINK Sydney.

What's next for AIBB

The AIBB has experienced a surge in registrations in the past 12 months with 61 new members. This is exciting for an organisation that has been established since 1986 and is the peak body for the business broking profession in Australia. With new members, means an increase in training and standards.

“All new members have participated and passed the new best practice course... This means we have better-trained professionals in our industry and we are lifting the standards for our entire profession.” Ian Jones, President and National Chair AIBB.

With many business brokers still experiencing forced lock-downs, business sales are largely online or on hold until inspections can continue. With buyer enquiries still coming through, many are keen to get back into communities and talk with their clients

“I’ll be able to get back out there into the community and show the clinics that I am currently selling to the buyers in person. Currently. We are using videos that I took pre-lockdown….which is 10 weeks and counting for Sydneysiders” Sally Stuart

If you're looking to sell a business and want a business broker to assist, you can search our Find a Business Broker section to locate a broker, or have a read of our Guide: How to Choose the RIght Business Broker it includes a helpful 15 questions to ask.

Tags: business broker career awardees success 2021 aibb