Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV)

Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV) represents what equipment would realise if the owner needed to sell it within a defined window but still had time to conduct proper marketing: advertise to buyers, allow inspection, and negotiate.

When OLV applies

• Asset-based lending (ABL) lenders use OLV as the primary collateral standard — they assume they could sell the equipment in an orderly way if the borrower defaults.
• Business restructuring advisors use OLV to estimate net recovery from a planned wind-down.
• Insurance replacement policies sometimes reference OLV for older or specialised equipment.

OLV vs FMV

OLV is always lower than FMV because the constrained time frame reduces the pool of motivated buyers. The discount depends on:

• Liquidity of the asset class — a common 20-tonne excavator has a deep buyer pool; a bespoke pharmaceutical reactor does not.
• Current market conditions — in a downturn, the OLV/FMV ratio compresses further.
• Geographic reach — assets with international buyer pools (available on platforms like EasiMachines) typically have smaller OLV discounts than locally traded equipment.

A rough rule of thumb: OLV = FMV × 0.60–0.80 for liquid categories, × 0.40–0.60 for specialised equipment.