Last week, the Dunedin business broker won the rising star award in the business broker category at the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s annual awards, held virtually because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The award was designed to recognise those who had recently joined the industry and were seen as stand out performers.
Mr Gouverneur got his real estate accreditation a week before last year’s Covid-19 lockdown and started a new career selling businesses at ABC Business Sales, based in its Dunedin office.
Business brokers, despite not directly selling property, still must get the same accreditation as a real estate agent.
They act as agents for people buying and selling companies.
Mr Gouverneur admitted joining a new industry at a time of uncertainty about what the future might hold did make him wonder whether he had made the right choice.
Brought up in Dunedin, Mr Gouverneur was an engineer by trade and spent 11 years owning his own local building and construction business.
After selling the business, and spending some time doing other things, he went searching for a new opportunity.
‘‘I have really enjoyed the change and winning this award gives me the boost to go to the next level with it,’’ he said.
Unlike brokers in bigger centres, Mr Gouverneur got to deal with a variety of businesses rather than specialising in one particular sector.
His past experience as a business owner was also a benefit.
‘‘I use the experience I’ve had in my own business to help others with theirs and guide them through what can be a complex sale process,’’ he said.
Dunedin was seen as a good place to be in business and it was attracting interest from outside the city.
‘‘Some corporate companies from the North Island are looking to investment here and some people from places like Auckland, looking for a lifestyle change, want to buy an established business here.
‘‘There is a lot on the books for Dunedin for the future and it is going to be quite a busy economy,’’ he said.
Watching a deal go unconditional was one of the best parts of selling businesses, Mr Gouverneur said.
