Common questions about selling a facilities management business.

The typical timeline from initial conversation to completion is six to nine months, although larger multi-service businesses can take longer through due diligence, the buyer's detailed check of the business. The early stages are valuation and buyer approaches, with the remainder spent on meetings, offers, any TUPE consultation, needed where staff move across to a new employer on their existing terms, and legal completion. We never rush the process, and every sale moves at the pace that is right for you.

Most FM businesses sell on a multiple of EBITDA: profit before interest, tax, and the write-down of equipment, vehicles and other assets, multiplied by an agreed figure. The multiple reflects real differences in contract length, recurring revenue, accreditation portfolio, TUPE workforce, the split between hard FM and soft FM, and sector diversification. A business with three plus year multi-service contracts and a diversified client base can command a higher multiple than a single-sector, single-client operator.

Buyers register with us and tell us the specific type of FM business they are looking for: region, sector, contract size, accreditation profile, and multi-service capability. Buyers include FM platforms backed by private equity (investment firms that buy companies to grow and sell on), national multi-service groups consolidating the market, FM firms expanding geographically, and qualified operators buying their first or next business. We put your business in front of several suitable buyers at once, discreetly, so they compete.

Confidentiality is the foundation of our process. We use anonymised teasers, short summaries that do not name your business, when approaching buyers and no identifying information about your business is shared at any stage without your express approval. All interested buyers sign an NDA, a confidentiality agreement, before receiving detailed information. Your TUPE workforce, contract holders, competitors, and suppliers will not know you are considering a sale unless you choose to tell them.

Our initial conversation is free and confidential. Fee structures vary depending on the scope of work and are always agreed in writing before any commitment.

If you sell the company's shares, the company stays the employer, so nobody transfers and everyone's terms carry on unchanged. If you sell the trade and assets, TUPE (the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations) moves your staff to the new owner on their existing terms, pay and length of service. Most buyers actively want to retain your TUPE team because a trained, accredited workforce with contract knowledge is one of the most valuable assets in an FM business. We walk you through TUPE consultation requirements as part of the process.

The accreditations buyers look at are IWFM membership, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 (the triple), SafeContractor, CHAS, and Constructionline. Buyers check that each one is current, with audit and renewal dates tracked. If you run manned guarding and hold SIA approved contractor status, that approval belongs to the company: an acquisition has to be reported to the SIA within 21 days, and a new company has to apply again. Keeping these current before going to market matters more than most owners realise.

Yes, but owner dependency, how far the business relies on you personally, affects both valuation and saleability. Buyers pay more for businesses where the owner has stepped back and a capable operations manager runs delivery. If you are still running day to day, we can help you identify the steps that reduce owner dependency before going to market. Even small improvements in this area make a meaningful difference to the final price.

Deal activity is high: UK facilities management and property services companies were involved in 181 deals in 2025, up 54% on 2024, and private equity completed half of them, according to Moore Kingston Smith (June 2026).

Everything starts with a free first conversation. We will ask about your business, your timeline, and your priorities. If you decide to proceed, we move to a detailed valuation, then a tailored buyer matching process. If you do not, we leave it there. You can talk to us long before you are ready to sell.