Sell your facilities management business for more. Or find one worth buying.
Multi-service IFM contractor with hard and soft FM contracts across commercial offices and public sector estates sold to a PE-backed national platform. Owner retained for a twelve-month transition.
Mechanical and electrical maintenance specialist serving healthcare and education estates sold to a strategic acquirer. Five competing offers received, closing well above the vendor expectation.
Bundled soft services provider with 180+ contracted sites sold to a national operator. All site teams and area managers TUPE-transferred on existing terms.
What multiples do facilities management businesses currently achieve?
In 2025 and early 2026, owner-led UK and US facilities management businesses are trading in a wide range. Single-service contractors (cleaning-only, M&E-only) tend to clear 4 to 6 times adjusted EBITDA. Integrated facilities management businesses with bundled hard and soft services, recurring contracts above 70 percent of revenue and demonstrable client retention frequently clear 6 to 9 times. Specialist compliance-led FM (water hygiene, fire compliance, M&E statutory) is achieving the upper end. The single biggest driver of multiple is contract quality: length, renewal track record, client concentration and contracted versus reactive revenue mix.
Who is actively buying facilities management businesses right now?
Three buyer groups dominate. First, PE-backed national FM platforms executing buy-and-build strategies, looking for regional scale and route density. Second, listed and strategic FM groups acquiring for capability, contract portfolio or sector specialism. Third, search funds and independent sponsors targeting £1M to £5M EBITDA owner-led businesses with strong recurring revenue. Our buyer database holds 14,000 plus self-registered acquirers, with over 400 actively mandated on facilities management.
How does TUPE affect a facilities management sale?
TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings) applies to almost every UK FM transaction because the business value sits in the contracts and the people delivering them. Acquirers will diligence employment liabilities, redundancy exposure, holiday accrual and pension auto-enrolment carefully. We work with specialist M&A lawyers who structure the transaction to protect the seller from post-completion TUPE liabilities and ensure the buyer inherits a clean workforce position. In US transactions, comparable employee transfer warranties apply.
How long does a facilities management sale typically take?
From engagement to completion, twelve to sixteen weeks is the typical range for a well-prepared FM business. Preparation and data room: two to four weeks. Buyer outreach and indicative offers: four to six weeks. Selected buyer due diligence and final negotiation: four to six weeks. Where contracts require novation consents from major clients, allow an extra four to eight weeks.
Do you handle hard FM, soft FM and integrated FM equally well?
Yes. We have completed transactions across hard services (M&E maintenance, building automation, fabric and statutory compliance), soft services (cleaning, security, catering, grounds, pest control, waste) and integrated facilities management bundling both. Our buyer database is segmented by service capability so each business is matched to acquirers actively seeking that exact profile.
Will the sale be confidential and protect my client and staff relationships?
Yes. Every approach is made under strict confidentiality and only after the acquirer has signed a non-disclosure agreement. Staff and clients are only informed once heads of terms are signed and a transition plan agreed. We have never had a confidentiality breach.
Hard FM (M&E and Statutory)
Mechanical and electrical maintenance, statutory compliance, BMS, fabric maintenance and planned preventative maintenance contracts.
Soft FM (Cleaning, Security, Grounds)
Contracted commercial cleaning, manned guarding, grounds maintenance, pest control and waste, often bundled across multi-site estates.
Bundled hard and soft services delivered through a single contract, often with self-delivery on the largest revenue lines.
TFM and Total Workplace Services
Total facilities management including reception, helpdesk, mailroom, AV and workplace experience for corporate occupiers.
You do not know what your contracts are worth.
A spreadsheet of MRR does not equal a buyer\
You are nervous about TUPE and staff disruption.
Your people are the business. We structure deals to protect your team, novate contracts cleanly and stage staff communication only after heads of terms are signed.
You have one buyer sniffing around, not a process.
A single buyer is a single price. We run a confidential competitive process to 200 to 300 qualified acquirers so the winning offer is the result of competition, not negotiation against you.
You are worried about client concentration questions.
Acquirers will probe top-client concentration. We help you frame the narrative around contract renewals, frameworks and pipeline so concentration is positioned as relationship strength rather than risk.
Facilities Management M&A Advisory | UK and US
Or find one worth buying.
You have built a facilities management business that keeps client estates compliant, clean, safe and operational. Whether you deliver hard FM, soft FM, integrated services or compliance-led contracts, you deserve to know exactly what your contract book is worth and which acquirers are actively buying in FM today.
Selling an FM Business is
Contract quality, TUPE, client concentration and self-delivery mix all change the price. We have seen every scenario.
Ready to Understand What Your FM Business Is Worth?
No obligation. No obligation. A confidential conversation with a senior FM-experienced advisor.
Expert M&A advisory for facilities management businesses in the UK and US. Hard FM, soft FM, integrated FM and compliance-led contracts.
Full-service M&A advisory for UK and US facilities management businesses. Systematic buyer matching with 14,000+ pre-qualified acquirers.
Get a free valuation estimate
Book a confidential 30-minute call with Joe from our M&A advisory team. No obligation. Everything discussed stays between us.
Some of the Serial Acquirers in the
These are a handful of the PE-backed platforms, national FM groups, and corporate acquirers currently buying commercial cleaning businesses in the UK and US. Our network includes over 14,000 registered acquirers with defined search criteria.
+ 14,000 more registered acquirers with defined search criteria
8 buyers got in touch with the help of their tech. We ended up completing the sale in 32 days to a serial acquirer.
I could not have asked for better support. They found the perfect buyer and secured terms that exceeded my expectations.
The team guided me through every step. I felt completely supported from first call to completion. I then referred my friend Jennifer, who also sold her company with them.
Buyer replied, scheduling intro call
Data room accessed 3x today
Strong intent signal on call
PE firm announces new fund close
Acquirer hires Head of M&A
US firm completes UK acquisition
Sector pricing firmed this quarter
Management meeting confirmed for Thursday
Competitor acquired by a consolidator
Revised offer received, above asking
How we outperform M&A advisory firms
handles research, monitoring and risk.
You already get cold approaches every week. Most are a single buyer fishing for a low price, with no intention of paying a competitive multiple. We run a structured, confidential process that turns scattered approaches into
3 to 5 simultaneous offers you can compare
, led end-to-end by a senior advisor on your deal - not a junior handler.
Competitive process across 80+ qualified buyers in your sector creates real tension on price and terms.
You choose the right buyer, not the only option.
Better deal structures mean more in your pocket on day one.
The right buyer looks after your team, your clients, and everything you built.
Here's how we deliver these results for business owners.
Handles research and analysis behind the scenes, monitored by your advisory team
Sage handles the heavy lifting: research, document preparation, buyer monitoring, risk analysis. So your advisors can focus on strategy and negotiation.
Data-driven insights for your advisors
Every insight leads to a specific action, giving your team a clear plan to maximise your outcome.
Your dedicated team leads the process end-to-end.
Your team leads. Technology supports.
Sage and Sterling handle research and monitoring so your advisors focus on strategy and negotiation.
Deeply understands every buyer's criteria, budget, and deal preferences
What Sterling knows about every buyer
Search criteria', desc: 'Sector, size, geography
Budget range', desc: "What they
Working style', desc: 'Management team fit
Every buyer is profiled through a detailed onboarding conversation, capturing the nuance that doesn't exist on the internet.
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Close & Protect the Legacy
From First Call to Successful Exit
A structured, five-step sell-side process designed to maximise valuation and keep you in control.
A senior M&A bench, plus a sector specialist recruited for your industry on every deal.
For every engagement we add a sector specialist from your industry to the core team: a 15-25 year operator or advisor with direct relationships in your niche. Recruited per deal so you get the right fit, not a generalist.
"I built and sold my own company after scaling it to 80,000+ users and raising over £2M in funding. The exit process was painful, expensive, and completely opaque. I knew other business owners deserved better."
I built and sold my own company after scaling it to 80,000+ users and raising over £2M in funding. The exit process was painful, expensive, and completely opaque. I knew other business owners deserved better.
So I set out to modernise the way businesses are sold. We have now advised on 22 sales, built a network of more than 14,000 registered acquirers, and we are the only data-led M&A firm with this proprietary technology and data. We are highly specialised in building services, facilities management, and healthcare, and that is all we do.
Before DealFlowAgent, I spent years in the trenches of high-growth startups, learning what it takes to build, scale, and ultimately sell a business. That firsthand experience - the sleepless nights, the difficult conversations, the elation of getting it done - means I understand what our clients are going through on a level that most advisors simply cannot.
There is nothing better than a founder calling to say they have paid off their mortgage, sorted their children's school fees, or are ringing from a three-week holiday in the Maldives. That is why we do this.
On a personal note: 30 years old, grew up in Surrey, Crystal Palace supporter (sorry), and proud owner of Willow, an English Spaniel who is far more popular than I am. I also make a very good lasagne, if that helps.
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