Business purchasers want to know: If I buy a business today, how long will it take me to get my money back?
Remember, the purchaser doesn’t want to pay for opportunity that they create in the future. They only want to pay for what has been built up by the vendor.
In the small- to medium-sized business market, purchasers are generally looking from one, to four and a half years, to recover the money they’ve invested.
Multiple of Earnings is the term for how many years or months a purchaser is prepared to wait before they recoup the value they paid the outgoing business owner.
Here's an example:
Imagine you’re selling your business for $1 million and I’ve assessed it as having an average Business Maintainable Earnings, looking forward, of about $300,000 a year.
If I buy your business it’s going to take me three and a bit years to get my money back.
That means I’m paying a Multiple of Earnings of about 3.3.
The Multiple of Earnings is also a proxy for a purchaser allocating a ‘risk factor’ when considering their investment appetite. The lower the multiple, the higher the risk.
If you would like advice or information about the business valuation services offered by JPAbusiness, contact the team on 02 6360 0360 for a confidential initial discussion.
