Business sale multiples by sector
Indicative ranges across UK sectors, and what earns the top of each one. Every range is wide because every business is different, so treat these as the shape of the market rather than a price for yours.
Most UK owner managed businesses change hands somewhere between three and eight times adjusted EBITDA. The sector narrows that considerably, and the specific business decides the rest.
This page sets out indicative ranges across every sector we work in, what earns the top of each one, and the two adjustments that matter more than the sector choice itself.
The range across UK sectors
Indicative multiples of adjusted EBITDA for owner managed businesses.
Read this before you use any number on this page
Every range here is wide, and it is wide on purpose. Two businesses sitting in the same row of the same table routinely sell for very different multiples. The gap between the best and worst business in one sector is usually larger than the gap between one sector and the next.
What decides where you land is specific to you: how much of your revenue repeats, what share sits with your largest customer, whether the business runs without you, how your contracts transfer, what your accounts would survive, and who is actively buying in your niche this quarter.
None of that is knowable from a table. These ranges tell you what the market looks like. They cannot tell you what your business is worth, and anyone who puts a single number on it without reading your accounts is guessing.
Two adjustments that come before the sector
Size, which moves the band
A business making £200,000 of EBITDA and one making £10m do not trade on the same multiple even in the same sector. Larger earnings mean less key person risk, more buyers able to transact and better access to debt.
Size moves the band before anything else
The same sector, at different scales of earnings.
Where you sit inside the band
The spread within a sector is usually wider than the gap between sectors. Floor to ceiling in one industry is commonly two to four turns, which on a business making £2m of EBITDA is four to eight million pounds of value decided entirely by how the business is built.
Our valuation calculator works through twelve weighted drivers and shows where you land.
Found your sector? The range is the market. Which end you are at is a reading of your accounts, and that is what we do. No cost, no obligation.
Get a free valuationConstruction and the built environment
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Main contracting | 2.5x to 4.5x | Framework positions and a forward order book rather than one off tenders |
| Groundworks | 3.0x to 5.0x | Owned plant, term contracts, a spread of house builder clients |
| Civil engineering contracting | 3.5x to 5.5x | Adoptable works experience and long standing client frameworks |
| Rail infrastructure | 4.5x to 7.0x | Rail infrastructure approvals and a possession delivery record |
| Marine and coastal | 4.5x to 7.0x | Specialist plant and a small competitor set |
| Scaffolding and access | 3.5x to 5.5x | Hire fleet owned outright, depot density, design capability in house |
| Roofing and cladding | 3.5x to 5.5x | Approved installer status and a clean building safety position |
| Fit out and interiors | 4.0x to 6.0x | Repeat client frameworks rather than main contractor concentration |
| Mechanical and electrical contracting | 4.0x to 6.5x | A planned maintenance book alongside the project work |
| HVAC, refrigeration and air conditioning | 4.5x to 7.0x | Service contracts, F Gas capability, directly employed engineers |
| Testing, inspection and compliance | 6.0x to 9.0x | Statutory driven revenue that recurs whether or not anyone is building |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
The pattern here is consistent: the further you move from one off project work towards contracted maintenance and statutory compliance, the higher the multiple. More detail on selling a construction business.
Utilities and infrastructure services
The most active part of the market we deal with. Accreditations are the barrier to entry and the reason multiples sit above general contracting, because a buyer cannot replicate NERS, GIRS or a water framework position by hiring people.
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Multi utility connections and ICPs | 5.0x to 7.5x | Accreditation across all four utilities and adoption agreements in place |
| Power connections and HV networks | 5.0x to 8.0x | NERS accreditation, DNO relationships, a pipeline of connection agreements |
| Water mains, install and maintenance | 4.5x to 7.0x | Water company framework positions across AMP cycles |
| Gas mains, install and maintenance | 4.5x to 7.0x | GIRS accreditation and long term network operator contracts |
| Telecoms and fibre infrastructure | 4.5x to 7.5x | Contracted build programmes and access to trained splicing teams |
| Street lighting and highways electrical | 4.0x to 6.5x | Local authority term maintenance contracts with renewal history |
| EV charging infrastructure | 4.5x to 8.0x | Owned or managed estate producing recurring income, not just install |
| Metering services | 5.0x to 8.0x | Contracted rollout volumes and a maintenance tail |
| Switchgear manufacture | 5.0x to 8.0x | Type tested designs, approvals, and specification lock in |
| Switchgear service, install and retrofit | 5.0x to 7.5x | Planned maintenance contracts and an installed base you already service |
| Substation services and protection | 5.0x to 8.0x | Scarce protection and control engineers, and DNO approval |
| Utilities and infrastructure, multi discipline | 5.0x to 8.0x | Several accreditations under one roof, which is what platform buyers pay for |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
Who buys in this space. Multi service and infrastructure groups building capability across all four utilities, private equity platforms consolidating accredited contractors, international groups entering the UK market, and the larger utility contractors buying geography or a discipline they currently subcontract.
That buyer profile is why a business holding several accreditations under one roof prices above the sum of its parts. Platform buyers are paying to avoid doing the accreditation work themselves.
Facilities management and services
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Hard FM and M&E maintenance | 4.5x to 7.0x | Self delivered engineering rather than subcontracted, long contracts |
| Total FM and multi service | 4.5x to 7.5x | Bundled contracts with high renewal rates across several disciplines |
| Soft FM, cleaning led | 3.5x to 5.5x | Contract length, low churn and a spread of customers |
| Contract and commercial cleaning | 3.5x to 6.0x | Specialist or regulated environments rather than general office work |
| Security services | 4.0x to 6.5x | Long manned guarding contracts and accreditation to ACS standards |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
Health, care and education
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Care homes, freehold | 5.0x to 8.0x | Good or outstanding rating, high occupancy, a strong private fee mix |
| Care homes, leasehold | 3.5x to 5.5x | Long lease with reasonable rent cover and no onerous uplift terms |
| Home care and domiciliary | 4.0x to 6.5x | Local authority framework positions alongside private clients |
| Children’s and specialist services | 6.0x to 9.0x | Registered capacity, strong ratings, commissioner relationships |
| Dental practices | 6.0x to 9.0x | NHS contract value combined with a growing private mix |
| Veterinary practices | 7.0x to 10.0x | Multi site, strong client retention, active consolidator interest |
| Private clinics | 6.0x to 9.0x | Recurring treatment plans and consultant retention |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
Regulatory rating is the dominant variable in this group. A requires improvement rating does more damage to value than a weak trading year, because it restricts who is allowed to buy as well as what they will pay.
Manufacturing and industrial
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| General manufacturing | 4.0x to 6.0x | Long standing customer approvals and protected margins |
| Precision and specialist manufacturing | 5.5x to 8.0x | Accreditations that take years to obtain, aerospace or medical approvals |
| Engineering services | 4.5x to 7.0x | Design capability plus a maintenance or spares income stream |
| Packaging | 4.5x to 7.0x | Long customer relationships and specification lock in |
| Plastics and polymers | 4.0x to 6.5x | Tooling ownership and technical barriers to switching supplier |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
Approvals and customer specification lock in are what separate the top from the bottom. A manufacturer whose components are designed into a customer’s product is in a different position to one competing on price each year.
Business services
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Professional and B2B services | 3.5x to 6.0x | Retained work rather than project fees, low owner dependency |
| Accountancy practices | 4.0x to 7.0x | Recurring compliance fees, low attrition, a successor already in place |
| Recruitment and staffing | 3.0x to 5.5x | Contract and temp income rather than pure permanent placement |
| IT and managed services | 6.0x to 10.0x | Contracted monthly recurring revenue with high renewal rates |
| Software and SaaS | 8.0x to 15.0x | Net revenue retention above 100 per cent and low churn |
| Marketing and creative agencies | 3.5x to 6.0x | Retainers rather than projects, and no founder led client list |
| Security services | 4.0x to 6.5x | Long manned guarding contracts and accreditation to ACS standards |
| Commercial cleaning | 3.5x to 6.0x | Contract length, low churn and a spread of customers |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
The variable here is whether revenue recurs. A services business on retainers prices like a different industry to the same business on projects, which is why the ranges in this group are so wide.
Logistics, transport and waste
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Haulage and transport | 3.0x to 5.0x | Owned fleet, dedicated contracts, driver retention |
| Warehousing and third party logistics | 4.5x to 7.0x | Long storage contracts and freehold or long leasehold space |
| Waste management and recycling | 5.0x to 8.0x | Permits, infrastructure and contracted volumes |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
Consumer, retail and hospitality
| Sector | Indicative multiple | What earns the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and distribution | 3.5x to 5.5x | Exclusive distribution agreements and supplier lock in |
| Retail, physical | 2.0x to 4.0x | Freehold property, or a brand with genuine pull |
| Ecommerce | 3.5x to 7.0x | Owned brand and repeat customers rather than marketplace dependence |
| Hospitality | 3.0x to 5.5x | Freehold, a proven multi site format and management in place |
| Nurseries and childcare | 5.0x to 8.0x | Good or outstanding Ofsted, high occupancy, freehold settings |
| Education and training | 4.0x to 7.0x | Accredited provision and recurring or funded income |
Guide only. The spread inside any one row is wider than the spread between rows.
What consistently earns the top of any range
- Revenue that renews without being won again
- No single customer above roughly ten per cent of turnover
- A management team that runs it without the owner
- Three years of consistent, explainable numbers
- Accreditations or approvals a competitor cannot quickly obtain
- Contracts that transfer cleanly on a change of control
- Records that survive a quality of earnings review
- Active acquirers already buying in the sector
Those eight apply everywhere. The sector sets the band, these decide the number.
What these ranges are not
They are not your number. They are a description of a market, assembled from how businesses of a certain type tend to trade. Your business has strengths and weaknesses that no table can see, and those are what decide the multiple rather than the industry you happen to be in.
They are not an offer, and they are not a valuation. They are what businesses of a certain type typically change hands for, which is a different thing from what a specific buyer would pay you on a specific day.
A strategic buyer with a reason to want your business can pay well above the top of a range. A business with one customer at forty per cent of revenue can sell below the bottom of it. Both happen regularly.
If you want the number rather than the range, start with the adjusted EBITDA calculator so the multiple is applied to the right figure, then talk to someone who can read the accounts.
Answered.
Can I rely on these multiples for my own business?
No, and you should be careful of anyone who says otherwise. They describe how businesses of a certain type tend to trade. Your multiple depends on your recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependency, contract transferability and who is buying in your niche right now. Two businesses in the same row of the same table regularly sell two or three turns apart.
What multiple will my business sell for?
The sector sets a band, size shifts it, and the specifics of your business decide where inside it you land. For most UK owner managed businesses the answer sits between three and eight times adjusted EBITDA, with recurring revenue businesses above that and asset light project businesses below.
Why are these ranges so wide?
Because the spread within a sector is genuinely wider than the gap between sectors. Two businesses of the same size in the same industry can differ by two to four turns depending on customer concentration, owner dependency and whether the revenue repeats.
Are multiples applied to profit or EBITDA?
Adjusted EBITDA. Statutory profit includes interest, tax, depreciation and whatever arrangements the current owner has in place, none of which carry over to a buyer. Applying a multiple to the wrong figure is the most common error owners make.
Does the size of my business change the multiple?
Substantially, and it is the adjustment most online calculators ignore. Larger earnings attract more buyers, carry less key person risk and support more borrowing, which is worth roughly minus one to plus one and a half turns across the range from small to large.
The number is a reading of your accounts
We will tell you where in your range you sit and why, and what would move you up. No cost, no obligation, nothing marketed.
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