EBITDA Multiples by Industry: UK and US Sector Guides , 2026
EBITDA multiples by industry vary more with size and contract quality than with sector label. In 2026 most building services, facilities management and healthcare businesses with £1M to £3M of defended EBITDA sell for roughly 4x to 10x, with smaller firms priced on SDE and larger platforms higher. Each guide below sets out its sector ladder, deal structures and sourced 2026 transactions, written by DealFlowAgent's specialist M&A advisory team with insight from over 22 completed exits.
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How to read EBITDA multiples by industry
A sector multiple is a starting point, not a price. Two businesses in the same sector with the same profit routinely receive offers several turns apart, because buyers pay for the quality and durability of earnings rather than the industry label. Every range on this page comes from the ladder in its own guide, and each guide shows the sourced 2026 transactions behind it.
SDE or EBITDA: which applies to you
Smaller owner-operated businesses, typically below about £250K of adjusted profit, are usually priced on seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), which adds the owner's own pay back into profit. Once a business has a management layer and does not depend on the owner day to day, buyers move to adjusted EBITDA. The multiple on EBITDA is higher, but it is applied to a smaller number, so the two are not directly comparable.
What moves a business up or down its range
Statutory inspection, maintenance contracts and repeat care or clinical income price above one-off project work.
A single client above roughly a fifth of revenue is a common reason for a lower offer or a larger earn-out.
Buyers discount businesses where relationships, accreditations or clinical registration sit with the founder alone.
Clean CQC, GPhC, BAFE, NICEIC or equivalent histories shorten due diligence and protect value.
Larger platforms attract private equity and strategic buyers, which widens competition and lifts the multiple.
UK and US figures are not interchangeable
US guides use US transactions, US dollar thresholds and US terminology such as SDE and collections. UK guides use UK deals and sterling bands. Tax treatment, lender appetite and regulation differ between the two markets, so compare a business only against the guide for the country it trades in.
Most owners who plan to sell in 2027 are valued on their 2026 accounts and their trading in the months before completion. We do not forecast 2027 multiples. Each guide instead sets out what to fix during 2026: contract terms, management depth, clean accounts and compliance records. Those are the levers buyers price.
For a figure specific to your company rather than your sector, request a confidential report using the form above.
20 to 60 Sources Analysed Per Guide
Valuation guides are being prepared. Check back soon.
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The pale bar is the full range each guide quotes in its short answer, from the smallest businesses to the largest groups. The solid bar is the band for a business with about £1M to £3M of defended EBITDA. Every figure comes from the linked guide, where the evidence is set out. These are DealFlowAgent estimates, not a price list.
Full multiple range and £1M to £3M EBITDA band for 19 UK sectors, 2026
Moves you to the top of your band
Ranges from each guide's short answer, updated 11 October 2026. Smallest businesses are priced on SDE; the rest on defended EBITDA. Where a guide's top band reads "+", larger deals can exceed it. Source: DealFlowAgent valuation guides.