Cleaning & facilities
Cleaning and facilities valuations, independently prepared.
James Nelson
Founder & M&A Valuation Director, The Business Valuers
17 years in UK business brokerage and valuation. 1,000+ SME valuations completed. Former Head of Corporate Sales at Christie & Co.
UK cleaning and facilities businesses typically sell for 2× – 7× normalised EBITDA, with specialist or accredited work in healthcare, pharmaceutical or food production earning 5× – 7× and managed contract bases with supervisors and long terms earning 3× – 5×. The bottom of the range applies to owner-run companies on contracts terminable at short notice.
A written, evidenced valuation of a commercial cleaning, janitorial, window or specialist facilities business — contract base, retention and true site margin tested properly. Fixed fee from £495, delivered in three working days.
Independent.We don't sell businesses. No success fee.
- 1,000+ UK business valuations
- 17 years of brokering & valuing experience
- Fixed fee from £495 — no hourly billing
- Report delivered in 3 working days
Fixed fee from £495
Written report in 3 working days. Quote back within the hour, no obligation.
1,000+ UK valuations completed. We don't sell businesses, so there's no incentive to move the figure.
What the figure usually turns on
Contract length, notice and retention
Thirty-day rolling contracts are the norm in cleaning, which caps the multiple. Longer terms, framework places and long-tenured sites are the strongest evidence that income repeats.
Margin per site, not blended margin
Portfolios usually contain a minority of sites carrying most of the profit and a tail running at or below cost. We look site by site, because a buyer will.
Labour model and wage exposure
National Living Wage increases hit this sector first. Whether rate rises can be passed through, and how quickly, is a direct valuation input rather than a footnote.
TUPE exposure and staff liability
Accrued holiday, pension arrears, contested TUPE transfers and self-employed cleaner arrangements are all liabilities that surface in diligence and reduce the price at completion.
Client concentration and sector mix
Offices, schools, healthcare and industrial sites behave differently through a downturn. A spread of medium-sized contracts is worth more than one anchor client of the same value.
Typical benchmarks
Indicative UK ranges only. Contract terms, retention and site-level margin move these figures substantially — your report is built from your own numbers and comparable transactions.
See our UK SME valuation multiples guide — every sector, what earns the top of the range
How the figure is built — a worked example
An illustrative commercial cleaning company, to show the arithmetic rather than any real client. Turnover of £1.1m across 40 contracts, supervisors in place, and a declared net profit of £96,000.
Illustrative figures only, not a real business and not a valuation. The labour adjustments moved the figure more than the choice of multiple — in cleaning, wage cost is where most of the value is won or lost.
Contract cleaning is valued on durability
Buyers in this sector assume they will lose a share of the contract base on change of ownership. The valuation question is how much, and the answer comes from tenure and retention history rather than from the current contract list.
We evidence retention, price the wage pass-through risk and quantify TUPE exposure, then state exactly how each affected the figure.
Independent, with no onward mandate
We don't sell businesses and take no success fee. There is no listing to win, so nothing inflates the number.
The reports are used for sale preparation, share transfers, disputes, funder requests and HMRC submissions.
This is for you if…
- —You're preparing to sell a cleaning or facilities business.
- —You're acquiring a contract base and want retention and margin tested.
- —You need a defensible figure for a share transfer, a divorce or HMRC.
- —You've had an offer from a consolidator and want it checked.
Common questions
How much is a cleaning business worth in the UK?
Cleaning companies are usually valued on a multiple of adjusted profit. In our view an owner-run company typically sits around 2 to 3 times, a managed contract base with supervisors around 3 to 5 times, and specialist or accredited services around 5 to 7 times. Contract terms and client concentration decide where a business lands.
Do my cleaning contracts transfer to a buyer?
It depends on the contract wording. Change-of-control clauses, short notice periods and rolling monthly terms all reduce what a buyer will pay, so we read the key contracts and value on what genuinely transfers.
Does TUPE affect the value of a cleaning business?
Yes. Staff transfer with the contracts, so wage rates, holiday accrual and any National Living Wage exposure come across too. We factor the true labour cost into maintainable earnings rather than leaving it for diligence.
What does a cleaning business valuation cost?
A straightforward sale or buy-side valuation is a fixed fee from £495, agreed in writing before work starts, with the report in three working days. Specialist work such as divorce starts from £795 and shareholder disputes from £895.
Want the number for your business?
Two quick questions and we'll come back with your fixed fee within the hour.
Fixed fee from £495
Written report in 3 working days. Quote back within the hour, no obligation.
1,000+ UK valuations completed. We don't sell businesses, so there's no incentive to move the figure.
Request a cleaning business valuation.
An independent, fully evidenced figure in three working days. Fixed fee from £495.
Independent.We don't sell businesses. No success fee.
- 1,000+ UK business valuations
- 17 years of brokering & valuing experience
- Fixed fee from £495 — no hourly billing
- Report delivered in 3 working days