Software and SaaS valuations, independently prepared.

What the figure usually turns on

• Quality of recurring revenue

  Committed annual contracts, monthly rolling subscriptions and usage-based billing are not equivalent. We separate true ARR from services, implementation and one-off licence income before valuing anything.

• Retention and net revenue retention

  Logo churn and net revenue retention are the two numbers that most move a software multiple. Expansion revenue from an existing base is the strongest single signal a buyer looks for.

• Gross margin and cost to serve

  Hosting, support and third-party licence costs are stripped out to reach a genuine software gross margin. A business at 55% margin is not valued like one at 85%.

• Growth efficiency and the Rule of 40

  Growth rate plus profit margin, customer acquisition cost payback and sales efficiency together decide whether the multiple sits at the bottom or the top of the range.

• Technical and key-person risk

  Code ownership, documentation, platform debt, single-developer dependence and contractor-held IP are all diligence findings that surface late and reduce price. They belong in the valuation up front.

ARR multiples are the output, not the method

Quoting a revenue multiple is easy; justifying it is the work. We evidence the retention, margin and growth efficiency that place your business within a range, and cross-check the answer on an earnings basis so the two reconcile.

Where the ARR figure itself is soft — services counted as recurring, contracts out of term, invoices raised but not collectable — we say so, because an acquirer's diligence will.

Independent, with no onward mandate

We don't broker software businesses and we take no success fee. Nothing about the figure is shaped by wanting the sale.

That is why the report works for board papers, funding rounds, EMI schemes, share transfers and HMRC submissions as well as for a sale.

This is for you if…

• —You're preparing to sell or have received an inbound approach from a trade buyer or PE.
• —You need a valuation for a share issue, an EMI scheme or an HMRC submission.
• —The board needs an independent view of value for planning or a buy-out.
• —You're acquiring a software business and want the ARR and retention claims tested.