SUNBELT began operations in 1978 in Charleston, SC. SUNBELT prospered as a single office operation until 1991 when Ed Pendarvis, SUNBELT's founder, formed a partnership with an individual to open an office in Greenville, SC. The partnership method was used to open additional offices in Charlotte, NC, Columbia, SC, and Spartanburg, SC. In each case, SUNBELT was the largest business brokerage firm in each market within a few months of opening.
The Birth of a Franchise
In May, 1993, the License Offering Circular was approved and the existing offices, with the exception of Charleston, were converted to franchises. In November, 1993, the SUNBELT Business Brokers trademark was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark office and franchising began in earnest.
Industry Recognition
Since becoming a franchised operation, SUNBELT has been consistently honored as the highest ranking business brokerage franchise in the United States in Entreprenuer Magazine's "Franchise 500" issues.
Where We Are Today
SUNBELT has grown at a dramatic pace, with hundreds of franchise offices around the world. During the past several years, our network of offices has spread through Canada and expanded into the UK, China, Scandanavia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia with many more openings to come. On February 1, 2006, SUNBELT was acquired (via the sale of it's assets) by MMI Business Brokers, LLC (MMIBB). MMIBB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merrymeeting Inc., a company that specializes in acquiring and developing franchise systems. MMIBB exclusively does business under the name of SUNBELT Business Advisors Network and is herein referred to as SUNBELT. SUNBELT focuses it's operating activities on selling SUNBELT franchises and providing services to SUNBELT's franchisees. All brokerage and other services provided to business buyers and sellers are provided by independently owned and operated franchisees of SUNBELT.
Since 1978, SUNBELT has evolved into the world's largest international
business brokerage network that handles the sale of more than 4000
businesses each year.