Free Trade Business Valuation Calculator

Almost always as a multiple of profit, specifically SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings), which is your net profit with the owner's salary and one-off costs added back. Most small UK businesses sell for 1.5×-3× SDE (Lansley Commercial, UK business valuation guide, 2026). Turnover barely matters on its own; a £1m-revenue business with thin margins and total owner-dependency can be worth less than a lean, systemised one on half the turnover.

Because a buyer is purchasing future profit they can actually collect. If the business only works when you're on the tools and answering every call, the buyer isn't buying a business; they're buying themselves a job. A highly owner-dependent business can lose 0.25×-0.75× off its multiple; in one worked example the same £60,000-profit business is worth £144,000 owner-dependent (2.4×) versus £174,000 with reduced owner reliance (2.9×) (Lansley Commercial, owner-dependency valuation guide, 2026).

Yes, significantly. Maintenance contracts, retainers and repeat commercial clients make future income predictable, which is exactly what a buyer pays a premium for. In one worked comparison of two otherwise-identical £500,000-EBITDA businesses, the one with 70% of income under multi-year contracts sold at 5×-6× earnings, versus 3.5×-4× for the mostly transactional business, a £500,000-£1,250,000 difference in sale price for the same profit (Dealwise Advisory, 13 July 2026). Shifting even a portion of your work onto contracts can lift both your profit and your multiple.

Reduce how much the business depends on you: document your processes, delegate, and put dedicated job-management software in place so the operation isn't in your head. Then build recurring revenue and keep clean, separated books. The report this tool generates prioritises these for your specific situation.

It's a well-grounded estimate to plan with, not a formal valuation. A broker or accountant will produce a defensible figure using your actual accounts. Use this to understand the range you're in and, more usefully, which levers move it.

The biggest drag on trade-business value is that it all lives in the owner's head. Tradehand gives the business its own assistant, one that answers the calls and messages, quotes, schedules, invoices and chases the payment, so the business runs without you, which is the single thing buyers pay the most for. Get a free demo and we'll show you how it lifts your score.