Tag
EBITDA
19 pages across every collection.
Decision··2 min
What is my business worth?
Upload your financials and receive a valuation report with assumptions, risks and a valuation range. Three methods, every figure traced back to a line in your file.
Article··2 min
How profitability affects valuation
Margin does not just raise the earnings the multiple is applied to — it raises the multiple itself. Why the effect compounds, and what a five-point improvement is actually worth.
Article··3 min
Common valuation mistakes
Nine errors that show up in almost every first valuation, what each one costs in euros, and the check that catches it before a buyer does.
Article··2 min
SDE vs EBITDA
Which earnings figure applies to your business, why the multiples attached to them are not interchangeable, and the €400,000 mistake owners make when they mix the two.
Article··3 min
EBITDA multiple explained
What actually sets your multiple — size, growth, concentration and owner dependence — and why the sector average you found online is the least useful number in the calculation.
Article··3 min
How to value a business
The whole process in seven steps — from the earnings figure you start with to the range you end up defending. Written for owners doing this for the first time.
Article··2 min
Revenue multiple or EBITDA multiple?
One of these two methods will flatter your business and the other will not. Which one applies depends on facts about your company, not on which number you prefer.
Article··3 min
How EBITDA affects your valuation
Two companies with identical revenue can be worth three times different amounts. Almost all of that gap comes from what is inside EBITDA — and what should not be.
Answer··1 min
Is EBITDA the same as profit?
No. EBITDA sits above interest, tax, depreciation and every cash movement that is not in the P&L. A business can grow EBITDA every year while running out of money.
Answer··1 min
Can I add my salary back to EBITDA?
Only the portion above a market rate for the work you actually do. Adding the whole salary back assumes the buyer gets a free chief executive, which no buyer accepts.
Answer··1 min
What counts as a one-off cost?
Something that happened once, will not recur under new ownership, and has a document behind it. Three years of 'one-offs' are operating costs with an optimistic label.
Answer··1 min
What is adjusted EBITDA?
EBITDA restated as it would look under a new owner — owner compensation at market rate, one-offs removed, personal costs stripped. It is the figure valuations actually use.
Answer··1 min
Should I use SDE or EBITDA?
SDE if one owner works full time in the business and the buyer will replace them personally. EBITDA once a management layer exists. The multiples are not interchangeable.
Answer··1 min
What is EBITDA?
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation — an attempt to measure what a business earns from operating, before the current owner's financing and accounting choices.
Answer··1 min
Is a 3x multiple good?
It depends on what it is three times. Three times EBITDA is low for most businesses above €500k of earnings; three times SDE is at the top of the range for a small one.
Answer··1 min
What is a good EBITDA multiple?
Four to six times for an SME under €2M of EBITDA, two to four below €500k. Where you sit inside the band matters more than the band itself.
Answer··1 min
How many times profit is a business worth?
Two to six times normalised earnings for most owner-managed businesses — but 'profit' has to mean the right thing, and reported net profit almost never does.
Answer··1 min
How do I calculate the value of my small business?
Four steps: normalise the earnings, pick the right earnings figure, apply a size-appropriate multiple, then adjust for debt and cash. Worked example included.
Answer··1 min
How much is my business worth?
Most owner-managed businesses sell for two to six times normalised annual earnings. Where you land inside that range depends on four things you can check today.