Design Agencies for sale in Australia

Trace ownership of brand assets, templates and project work through employee, freelancer and client agreements. Contractor-created IP generally remains with the contractor unless the contract says otherwise, so obtain the necessary assignments or licences before valuing creative assets as agency-owned property.

Review licence scope, authorised users, commercial-use permissions and transfer terms for fonts, photography, illustrations, plugins and software subscriptions. Check client-project restrictions separately, then budget for replacement licences rather than assuming possession of source files or installed software establishes continuing usage rights.

Separate signed engagements, retainers and approved stages from pitches, estimates and informal client briefs. Review cancellation and ownership-change provisions, then confirm delivery capacity and remaining fees before treating the full project pipeline as revenue that will transfer to the buyer.

Compare project fees with recorded time, freelance costs, production, revisions, pitching and client-management hours. Review scope changes and write-offs, then calculate realised contribution by service line rather than relying on a headline hourly rate that excludes unpaid creative and account work.

Assess portfolio contributions, client relationships and delivery roles by employee and freelancer, including the selling founder. Confirm retention and handover arrangements, then cost replacement design and account-management expertise before attributing the agency's reputation entirely to brand value or its client list.

Reconcile briefs, approvals, versions, source files, deposits and deliverables with contract rights and applicable privacy obligations. Agree an authorised transfer and access process, then protect confidential material during due diligence instead of assuming every client file can be shared without restriction.