How to Value and Sell a Small Business in the UK: The Complete SME Guide
The UK SME market sees over 300,000 business transactions per year. This guide covers every valuation method SDE, EBITDA multiples, revenue multiples, asset-based with sector-specific benchmarks, a step-by-step example for a UK digital agency, how to maximize value before selling, the full M&A legal process, and HMRC's Business Asset Disposal Relief (10% CGT up to £1M lifetime).
# Selling a UK SME: Valuation, Process and Tax A Practitioner's Guide The UK is home to roughly 5.5 million businesses, of which more than 99 per cent are SMEs. Somewhere between 250,000 and 350,000 businesses change hands each year, depending on whose data you trust, from corner-shop deals at £40k to mid-market businesses transacting in the £20m to £50m enterprise value range. It is one of the deepest, most professionalised SME M&A markets in Europe. For sellers, the single highest-impact step is the valuation. Pitch too high and you scare off serious buyers and burn six months in unproductiv…