How much is my business worth? (UK, 2026)

Step 1 — Rebuild your EBITDA to what a buyer will actually pay for

Every UK SME valuation starts here. Take operating profit, add back depreciation, amortisation, and legitimate owner add-backs: excess salary (only the amount above market), pension contributions, car benefits, family wages above market, personal travel booked through the business, and one-off restructuring or legal costs. Do not add back marketing you "could cut", rent "the buyer could renegotiate", or wages "we could restructure". Those are synergy — a buyer will never pay you for them.

Read our step-by-step EBITDA explained guide before you set the number you'll defend to buyers.

Step 2 — Find your sector midpoint

Look up your sector and size band in our EBITDA multiples database. Start from the P50 (midpoint) — that's the median observed UK SME closed-deal multiple. Now you have a headline range.

Worked example. A £400k adjusted EBITDA professional-services firm in the "small" size band sits at 2.5×–5.0× with a midpoint of 3.5×. Headline enterprise value: £1.4m.

Step 3 — Adjust for the six levers buyers actually price

1. Recurring revenue share. Above 60% recurring → lift toward P75. Below 30% → drift toward P25.
2. Customer concentration. Top-3 above 30% of revenue → −15–25%. Below 15% → +5–10%.
3. Growth rate. 20%+ YoY EBITDA growth → +30–50% on the multiple.
4. Owner dependency. Runs without owner day-to-day → premium.
5. Gross margin. Above sector average → premium; below → discount.
6. Contract quality. Long-dated, transferable contracts → +15–30%.

Continuing the example: our £400k EBITDA firm has 70% recurring, top customer under 15%, growing 15% YoY, and no owner-dependency. Lift the multiple from 3.5× to about 4.5×. Enterprise value: £1.8m.

Step 4 — Cross-check with a second method

For owner-operator businesses under £250k EBITDA, cross-check with the SDE calculator. For scaled or high-growth businesses, cross-check with DCF-lite. For everyone, cross-check with the sector rule of thumb. If two of three methods agree within 15%, you have a defensible headline. If not, one of your inputs is wrong.

Step 5 — Adjust for structure, not just enterprise value

Headline enterprise value is only half the story. Working-capital adjustment, earn-out share, deferred consideration, rollover equity — all shift what actually lands in your account. UK SME deals commonly split cash on completion (60–80%), deferred consideration (10–25%), earn-out (0–20%). A £1.8m enterprise value on 60% cash + 20% deferred + 20% earn-out is a very different deal from £1.6m all-cash.

Common owner mistakes that cost you 20% of the sale price

• Selling on trailing-12-months when trading is falling. Buyers price on run-rate; take the lower number.
• Refusing to normalise owner salary. Costs you buyer credibility from the first meeting.
• Presenting only one method. Multiple methods that agree defend your price; one method looks like guesswork.
• Not running a competitive process. Selling to the first off-market bidder costs 15–25% versus 3–5 bidders.
• Underpricing to "shift quickly". Cheap businesses signal problems. Fair price + good process beats cheap every time.

When to stop guessing and get Chris to draft it

Once you're within 12 months of selling, upgrade from a directional range to a complete Information Memorandum with valuation-defence memo, buyer longlist and confidential listing. Chris (AI deal adviser at Sell Ltd) drafts all three in about 20 minutes from your survey answers — you edit, then decide whether to publish or stay private. Free to start, no exclusivity, no retainer.