UK Business Exit Data

Market Sentiment

What M&A Advisors Are Seeing

In the most recent survey of 435 UK and Ireland M&A advisory firms, 81% expressed a positive outlook for H1-2026 — up from 66% in the prior half and 58% the half before that. Advisor confidence in the UK mid-market is accelerating consistently.

Advisor optimism has accelerated from 58% to 81% across three consecutive surveys. More owners are exploring exits, more advisors are taking mandates. The market is warming.

Dealsuite UK&I M&A Monitor, Editions 11 & 12 — survey of 433–435 advisory firms

UK Transactions

The Market Around You

Industry Snapshot

Sector by Sector

Across every major UK sector, active consolidation is reshaping the market. Named acquirers are deploying capital, completing transactions, and building platforms — from dental corporates acquiring 1,250+ practices to PE firms investing over £1.2 billion in UK law firms over five years.

Valuation Benchmarks

What Buyers Are Paying — By Sector

UK mid-market EBITDA multiples in H2-2025 ranged from 3.4× for retail trade to 8.2× for software development, based on transactions advised by 435 M&A advisory firms. The UK&I average stands at 5.4×, up 0.1 from the prior half — with eight of thirteen sectors showing upward movement.

Source: Dealsuite UK&I M&A Monitor, February 2026 (Edition 12). Enterprise Value / EBITDA.

Tax Policy

The Tax Clock Is Ticking

Timeline

How Long Deals Actually Take

According to UK M&A advisors surveyed in H2-2025, 80% of advised business sales complete within 12 months from mandate to close. The most common duration is 6–12 months, accounting for 48% of transactions, while 32% of deals complete in under six months — typically where sellers are well-prepared.

Source: Dealsuite UK&I M&A Monitor, February 2026 (Edition 12)

Six Studies, One Finding

The Readiness Gap

Six independent UK studies — conducted by different organisations with different methodologies — converge on the same finding: somewhere between 60% and 80% of UK business owners enter an exit process without a structured understanding of how buyers would evaluate their business.

Meanwhile, across five other studies:

No single survey is definitive. But when six separate studies all land in the same range, the signal is clear.

Somewhere between 60% and 80% of UK business owners enter a deal process without a structured understanding of how buyers would evaluate their business.

Why Owners Sell

The Real Reasons Behind UK Business Exits

The most common reason UK business owners sell is age combined with a lack of succession, cited in 41% of advisory mandates. Securing accumulated value accounts for 22%, while 13% sell to bring in new management for the next growth phase. The average age of a selling entrepreneur has dropped from 59 to 56 over the past decade.

Whatever the reason, buyers evaluate the same five things: financial credibility, revenue quality, owner dependency, operational transferability, and legal readiness.

Source: Dealsuite UK&I M&A Monitor, February 2026 (Edition 12)

Mandate Risk

Where Deals Fall Apart

In H1-2025, 29% of UK sell-side mandates resulted in a discontinued transaction according to Dealsuite’s survey of 433 advisory firms. The single most common cause — cited by 54% of advisors — is unrealistic valuation expectations from the seller. Most deal failures are discoverable before a buyer ever enters the room.

The Size-Premium Curve

Why Bigger Businesses Command Higher Multiples

The relationship between company size and valuation multiple is one of the most consistently misunderstood dynamics in UK business sales. A company with £200K EBITDA trades at an average of 3.3×, while a £10M EBITDA business commands 8.4× — a 5.1× spread driven by owner dependency, customer concentration, and earnings volatility.

Same business. Different scale. 17× the enterprise value.

Most owners expect a number closer to what they read about in headlines. The market tells a different story — and understanding where your business sits on this curve is the first step toward improving it.

Source: Dealsuite UK&I M&A Monitor, February 2026 (Edition 12). Companies below £200K EBITDA excluded — risk premium too case-specific.

Buyer Demand

How Many Buyers Are Looking — By Sector

UK M&A advisors report an average of 7.9 serious interested buyers per company put up for sale, based on H1-2025 mandate data across 433 advisory firms. Software development leads with 11.8 interested parties per company, followed by business services at 11.1 and industrial manufacturing at 10.1.

Source: Dealsuite UK&I M&A Monitor, August 2025 (Edition 11). “Interested” = party that engages in direct contact with the seller.