UK SME transaction multiples
What is my business worth?
A UK SME with £500,000 of adjusted EBITDA and no debt indicates at £2,250,000 on the 4.5x median multiple the UK200Group SME Valuation Index recorded for the year to November 2025, and at £3,500,000 on the same index's 7.0x mean. Enter your own figures to see both, and read what the gap between them means.
The basis
- The default multiple is the median 4.5x EBITDA reported by the UK200Group / MarktoMarket SME Valuation Index for the year to November 2025, compiled from actual purchases and sales of real UK businesses submitted by the group's Corporate Finance Panel (UK200Group, November 2025). The same index reports a mean of 7.0x and a median P/E of 5.8x.
- That index is a market average across sectors and sizes, and its own front page says valuations should be personalised to the business. It is an anchor for a conversation, not a valuation of your company. A real valuation needs a qualified valuer who has read your accounts, your contracts and your customer list.
- Adjusted EBITDA means profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, normalised: one-off costs added back, owner remuneration restated to a market salary, related-party rent restated to market rent. For an owner-run business where the owner is the operator, brokers usually work from SDE (seller's discretionary earnings, EBITDA plus a full owner's salary and benefits) instead, and apply a lower multiple to it. Do not mix the two.
- Deals are normally struck cash free and debt free: the multiple buys the trading business (enterprise value), then surplus cash is added and every debt-like item is deducted to get what shareholders receive. Directors' loans, finance leases, overdue PAYE or VAT and deferred consideration all count as debt.
- The figure here is a headline price, before tax and before deal structure. Earn-outs, deferred consideration, working capital adjustments and warranty escrows routinely move what an owner actually receives. Capital Gains Tax then applies to the gain, at 18% where Business Asset Disposal Relief is available on the first £1m of lifetime gains and 24% above that for a higher rate taxpayer (gov.uk).
- No sector or size adjustment is applied, because no UK source publishes one we can cite. Sector, growth, recurring revenue, customer concentration and owner dependence all move the multiple, and the honest way to use this tool is to run the range and ask an adviser where in it you sit.
Business Worth Calculator is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with UK200Group, MarktoMarket, BDO, ICAEW or HMRC, and nothing here is a valuation or tax, accounting, legal or investment advice. The output is an indication built from published market medians; a valuation you can rely on requires a qualified valuer who has read your accounts.
Indicative UK SME values at the published 2025 index multiples
Last updated
What the median and mean EBITDA multiples from the UK200Group / MarktoMarket SME Valuation Index (year to November 2025) imply at each earnings level, with no surplus cash and no debt. The distance between the two columns is the honest width of the answer before anyone looks at your accounts.
Every row is this page's own calculator, run at zero surplus cash and zero debt, using the median (4.5x) and mean (7.0x) EBITDA multiples the UK200Group / MarktoMarket SME Valuation Index reported for the year to November 2025 from actual UK SME transactions. It indicates where the middle of that market sat; it is not a valuation of any particular business, and no sector or size adjustment is applied because no UK source publishes one we can cite.
| Adjusted EBITDA | At the 4.5x index median | At the 7.0x index mean | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100,000 | £450,000 | £700,000 | £250,000 |
| £250,000 | £1,125,000 | £1,750,000 | £625,000 |
| £500,000 | £2,250,000 | £3,500,000 | £1,250,000 |
| £1,000,000 | £4,500,000 | £7,000,000 | £2,500,000 |
| £2,000,000 | £9,000,000 | £14,000,000 | £5,000,000 |
- The UK200Group / MarktoMarket SME Valuation Index put the median EBITDA multiple on UK SME transactions at 4.5x for the year to November 2025, down from 5.5x the year before.
- At that median multiple a UK SME with £500,000 of adjusted EBITDA and no debt indicates at £2,250,000; at the same index's 7.0x mean it indicates at £3,500,000.
- The same index reports a mean EBITDA multiple of 7.0x against a median of 4.5x, so a small number of high-multiple deals pull the average well above the typical transaction.
Cite this page
“Indicative UK SME values at the published 2025 index multiples”, Business Worth Calculator, https://bizworthcalculator.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Every row is this page's own calculator, run at zero surplus cash and zero debt, using the median (4.5x) and mean (7.0x) EBITDA multiples the UK200Group / MarktoMarket SME Valuation Index reported for the year to November 2025 from actual UK SME transactions. It indicates where the middle of that market sat; it is not a valuation of any particular business, and no sector or size adjustment is applied because no UK source publishes one we can cite.
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The questions we get
How much is my business worth?
For a UK SME, start at adjusted EBITDA multiplied by 4.5, the median multiple the UK200Group / MarktoMarket SME Valuation Index recorded for the year to November 2025, then add surplus cash and deduct all debt. On £500,000 of adjusted EBITDA with no debt that is £2,250,000. It is an indication of the market, not a valuation of your company.
What is a typical EBITDA multiple for a UK small business?
The published median across UK SME transactions was 4.5x for the year to November 2025, with a mean of 7.0x. Over the five index years to November 2025 the median has moved between 4.3x and 6.0x. Multiples above that range exist but are not typical of an ordinary owner-managed business.
Why is the mean multiple so much higher than the median?
Because a small number of large or unusually attractive deals pull the average up. The same index reports a mean of 7.0x against a median of 4.5x for the year to November 2025. The median is the better description of an ordinary sale; the mean shows what is possible when a business is genuinely scarce.
Does this calculator tell me what I will actually receive?
No. It gives a headline price before deal structure and before tax. Earn-outs, deferred consideration, working capital adjustments and warranty retentions change the cash that arrives, and Capital Gains Tax then applies to the gain. Business Asset Disposal Relief charges 18% on qualifying gains from 6 April 2026, capped at £1m of lifetime gains.
Do multiples differ by sector and business size?
Yes, substantially, and we do not publish a sector table because no UK source publishes one we can cite and verify. The published index is a market-wide median and mean. Treat the gap between those two figures as the width of the answer, and ask a corporate finance adviser where in it your sector and size sit.
Is this a valuation?
No. It is an indication computed from a published market median. A valuation is a professional opinion given by someone who has read your accounts, contracts and customer list and can defend the figure to a buyer, a court or HMRC.
Start from a real number, not a rule of thumb.
Published UK SME transaction multiples, applied to your own earnings, in ten seconds.
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