Guide
Business valuation calculator: the sum, and the multiple it hides
Updated
A business valuation calculator multiplies your maintainable profit by a multiple it chose for you, so the multiple is the whole answer. UK advisers who publish one show it rising with size: CLFI reads 3.1x at £200k of EBITDA up to 8.5x at £10m.
What the calculator is doing
Every free engine takes one profit figure, usually EBITDA or adjusted net profit, and multiplies it. The arithmetic is right; the judgement is the multiple, and it is the one input you did not choose. A written valuation is the same sum with the multiple argued from your own sector, size and risks, and signed.
What UK advisers publish for the multiple
CLFI publishes EV/EBITDA multiples rising from 3.1x at £200k of EBITDA to 8.5x at £10m, which it calls the small-firm premium in reverse: smaller firms sell for fewer years of profit.
Source: CLFI, EBITDA multiples by industry UK
BusinessValuation.co.uk publishes its own band table, with businesses in the £5m to £10m+ EBITDA band at 6.5x to 9.0x+ where a private equity platform or a strategic trade buyer is in the room.
Source: BusinessValuation.co.uk, SME business valuation
Why the number moves
- Size. Both tables above rise with profit; a calculator that applies one sector average to every size overstates a small business.
- Owner dependence. Profit that leaves with the owner is worth less to a buyer than the same profit with a team behind it.
- Customer concentration. One customer at a large share of revenue lowers the multiple whatever the sector does.
- Normalisation. The profit itself is adjusted first: the owner's salary to a market rate, one-off costs put back. Every pound of error is multiplied.
When a calculator is not enough
A sale, a share scheme, a divorce, a dispute and an HMRC check all need a figure someone will defend. UK firms publish fees for that written valuation from £250 to £4,900, a median of £2,000 across 9 firms read on 27 October 2026.