Conservative enterprise value to normalised EBITDA ranges for owner-operated Singapore businesses across 55 sectors, built from Singapore transactions where price and earnings were disclosed, and cross-checked against small-business deal data. These are the same ranges behind our valuation calculator.
For owner-operated Singapore businesses earning S$0.5m to S$1.5m of normalised EBITDA. Below S$500,000, take about half a turn off; above S$1.5m, add about half a turn to the low and typical figures, within the high. Evidence shows how much Singapore deal data sits behind each range. Where it is thin, we have leaned lower.
| Sector | Low | Typical | High | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | ||||
| Dental practice | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Medium |
| GP or family clinic | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Medium-high |
| Medical aesthetics clinicless prepayments | 2.5x | 3.5x | 5.0x | Medium-low |
| Specialist clinic | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Medium |
| Physiotherapy or rehab practiceless prepayments | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| TCM clinicless prepayments | 1.5x | 2.5x | 3.5x | Low |
| Eldercare or home care | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Veterinary clinic | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Low |
| Medical laboratory or health screening | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Low |
| Retail pharmacyplus stock | 2.0x | 2.75x | 3.75x | Low |
| Optometry or optical retailplus stock | 2.0x | 2.75x | 3.75x | Low |
| Medical or dental supplies distributionNTA floor | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Wellness and consumer | ||||
| Gym or studio, single siteless prepayments | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Low-medium |
| Gym or studio, three or more sitesless prepayments | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Low-medium |
| Spa or beauty, single centreless prepayments | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Medium |
| Spa or beauty, multi-outlet with own productsless prepayments | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium |
| Hair or nail salonless prepayments | 1.5x | 2.5x | 3.5x | Medium-low |
| F&B, single outlet | 1.5x | 2.25x | 3.0x | Medium |
| F&B group, three or more outlets | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium-high |
| F&B group with central kitchen or wholesale | 4.0x | 5.0x | 6.0x | Medium-high |
| Retailplus stock | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Low |
| E-commerce or D2C brandplus stock | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Low-medium |
| Business services and tech | ||||
| Accounting or corporate secretarial | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium |
| Management consulting | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low-medium |
| Architecture or engineering consultancy | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium |
| Marketing or digital agency | 2.5x | 3.5x | 5.0x | Medium |
| Recruitment or staffing | 2.5x | 3.5x | 5.0x | Medium |
| IT services or managed services | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Medium |
| Software or SaaS (profitable) | 3.5x | 5.0x | 6.5x | Low-medium |
| Cleaning or security services | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Medium |
| Integrated facilities management | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Medium |
| Corporate or SkillsFuture training | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Insurance broker or financial advisory | 2.5x | 3.5x | 5.0x | Low-medium |
| Real estate agency3-year average | 1.5x | 2.5x | 3.5x | Low |
| Property or MCST management | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Travel agencyless prepayments | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Events or media production3-year average | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Low |
| Pest control | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Low |
| Landscaping, maintenance-ledNTA floor | 2.5x | 3.25x | 4.25x | Low |
| Waste management or recyclingNTA floor | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Industrial and trade | ||||
| Manufacturing or precision engineeringNTA floor | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium |
| Construction or M&E, project-basedNTA floor, 3-year average | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Medium-high |
| Construction or M&E, recurring maintenance | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium-high |
| Air-con or HVAC, maintenance-led | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Low-medium |
| Air-con or HVAC, installation-ledNTA floor, 3-year average | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Medium |
| Interior, renovation or fit-out3-year average | 1.5x | 2.5x | 3.5x | Low-medium |
| Logistics, forwarding or warehousingNTA floor | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Medium |
| Trading or distributionNTA floor | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low-medium |
| Food and beverage distributionNTA floor | 2.5x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| Food manufacturing or central kitchen supplierNTA floor | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Medium-low |
| Labels or packaging manufacturingNTA floor | 3.0x | 4.0x | 5.0x | Low-medium |
| Commercial printingNTA floor | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Low |
| Marine or offshore servicesNTA floor, 3-year average | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Medium-low |
| Automotive workshop | 2.0x | 3.0x | 4.0x | Low |
| Automotive parts or fleet maintenance | 3.0x | 3.5x | 4.5x | Low |
| General | ||||
| Any other owner-operated SME | 2.5x | 3.25x | 4.5x | General range |
NTA floor: for asset-heavy businesses, net tangible assets act as a floor, roughly 0.8x to 1.2x. Plus stock: saleable stock is paid for at cost on top of the multiple. Less prepayments: unused packages, memberships and customer deposits are deducted. 3-year average: earnings are lumpy, so buyers price on an average rather than the best year. Below about S$300,000 of normalised EBITDA, buyers price on owner earnings (SDE) instead: roughly 1.0x to 2.75x for healthcare and wellness, 1.0x to 2.5x for F&B, 2.0x to 3.2x for business services and 1.5x to 3.0x for other sectors.
Singapore has no public dataset of small-business sale multiples by size, so the clearest evidence comes from overseas small-business and private-equity data. The pattern is consistent: the smaller and more owner-dependent the business, the lower the multiple.
| Deal size | Typical multiple | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Under US$0.5m deal value | About 2.0x SDE | IBBA Market Pulse, Q4 2025 (US) |
| US$0.5m to US$1m | About 3.0x SDE | IBBA Market Pulse, Q4 2025 (US) |
| US$1m to US$2m | About 3.1x SDE | IBBA Market Pulse, Q4 2025 (US) |
| US$2m to US$5m | About 4.1x EBITDA | IBBA Market Pulse, Q4 2025 (US) |
| US$5m to US$50m | About 5.5x EBITDA | IBBA Market Pulse, Q4 2025 (US) |
| All private deals, median | 3.5x to 3.8x EBITDA | DealStats Value Index, 2025 |
| Listed Singapore market | About 16x P/E | Market average, October 2026 |
SDE is seller’s discretionary earnings: profit before the owner’s own pay. Applying an EBITDA multiple to SDE, or the other way round, overstates value by roughly the owner’s salary times the multiple.
Listed-company acquisitions of private Singapore businesses where the filing disclosed both price and earnings or net assets. Multiples are calculated from the filings. Where a deal was paid in shares or against guaranteed profit, we show what it means in cash.
| Year | Transaction | Sector | Multiple | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Listed healthcare group buys a Hougang GP clinic (Livingstone Health) | GP clinic | 2.75x adjusted PBT | About half paid at completion; the rest deferred against profit and licence conditions. |
| 2026 | HC Surgical buys 51% of a single-surgeon practice (Chirurgia) | Specialist clinic | 4.9x PBT | Remaining 49% priced later on a formula, conditional on the surgeon staying. |
| 2026 | YY Group buys 95% of a Singapore distributor (Xtreme Solutions) | Distribution | Headline 7.9x net profit; about 1.6x in cash | 80% paid in the buyer’s shares with a 12-month lock-up. |
| 2023 | AsiaMedic buys an aesthetic clinic business (LE Private Clinic) | Medical aesthetics | 5.3x net profit | Small, single-doctor practice; paid in shares. |
| 2021 | Neo Group takes 51% of a snack brand (RIFI, Crusty’s) | Food manufacturing | About 3.3x PBT, pre-money | Small cash subscription into the company. |
| 2020 | Koufu buys a bakery and snack group (Deli Asia) | F&B with central production | 7.7x PBT | All cash. A larger, strategic target: a ceiling for SMEs, not a typical outcome. |
| 2019 | Clearbridge buys 51% of a nine-clinic dental group (Dental Focus) | Dental | 8.1x historical P/E, about 4x to 6x EBITDA | Up to about S$2m more payable on a three-year earn-out. |
| 2019 | Far East Group buys an air-con installer (M-Tech) | Air-con installation | Headline 9.3x guaranteed profit; about 1.0x NTA in substance | The profit guarantee was missed and the contingent payment was written down to nil. |
| 2017 | TEE-led consortium buys a waste collection and recycling group (Chiang Kiong) | Waste and recycling | About 3.4x two-year average P/E | All cash. Earnings swung widely from one year to the next. |
| 2017 | ISOTeam buys an electrical and A&A contractor (Rong Shun) | Construction and M&E | 2.1x PBT, about 2x NTA | Part paid in treasury shares, with a small profit guarantee. |
| 2016 | mm2 Asia buys 51% of an events and concerts group (UnUsUaL) | Events | Headline about 12.7x profit; about 2.9x on upfront cash | Most of the price was contingent on targets and partly paid in shares. |
| 2015 | Nordic buys an insulation, scaffolding and maintenance group (Austin Energy) | Industrial services | 3.4x PBT, at most 1.8x NTA | Cash, paid in three tranches over twelve months. |
| 2015 | GKE buys 70% of a chemical warehousing and logistics firm (Marquis Services) | Logistics | About 3.0x guaranteed PBT | Priced on a two-year profit guarantee. |
| 2011 | Securitas buys Chubb Guarding Services Singapore | Security guarding | 0.39x revenue | Enterprise value about S$7m on about S$18m of sales. |
Enterprise value, cash-free and debt-free, divided by normalised EBITDA: profit after a market salary for every role the owner fills and a market rent, with one-off items removed. Listed-company P/E figures are converted to this basis before they are compared.
First, Singapore transactions with disclosed price and earnings, mostly listed groups buying private businesses. Second, closed small-business deal data from overseas, for the same size band. Third, Singapore asking prices, used only to show what owners expect. Listed multiples are a ceiling, never an anchor.
Where a sector has little Singapore evidence, the range sits at or below the nearest well-evidenced sector, and the evidence column says so. Sectors with very little evidence are left out and covered by the general range instead.
Deals paid in the buyer’s shares, against guaranteed future profit, or largely on earn-outs are restated on upfront cash and historical earnings before they inform a range.
Use these ranges to sense-check a number, not to set a price. For your own business, try the calculator or ask for a written valuation.
Most owner-operated Singapore businesses with S$0.3m to S$3m of normalised EBITDA change hands at roughly 2x to 5x that figure. The sector sets the starting range and size moves it: smaller businesses sell for less. Recent Singapore deals with disclosed figures cluster at 2x to 5x pre-tax profit. Below about S$300,000 of normalised EBITDA, buyers usually price on owner earnings instead, at roughly 1x to 3x.
It is the profit a new owner could expect to earn. Start with profit before tax, add back interest, depreciation and amortisation and what you pay yourself, then deduct a market salary for someone to do your job. Remove one-off income and costs, and charge a market rent if you own the premises or pay below market. In Singapore SME deals this step often cuts reported profit by 20% to 45%.
Headline multiples of 8x to 18x in listed-company announcements are usually calculated on guaranteed future profit rather than historical profit, are paid partly in the buyer’s own shares, sometimes above market price, and lock the seller in for years. Several have later been written down when guarantees were missed. Restated on upfront cash and historical earnings, many come back to 2x to 4x.
Not usually. Singapore listings often ask 4x to 10x stated profit, frequently on run-rate figures or on earnings before the owner’s salary. Businesses that do sell overseas achieve around 90% to 94% of their asking price, and roughly a third of adviser-led sales do not complete, most often because of a valuation gap. Asking prices tell you what owners hope for, not what buyers pay.
We revisit them as new Singapore transactions are disclosed and as we see outcomes in our own work. Where Singapore evidence for a sector is thin, the range leans lower, and the evidence column says so.
Start with the calculator for an indicative range in two minutes. For a number you can act on, we read your accounts, contracts and buyer market and put it in writing, under NDA, for a fixed fee credited against our success fee if you sell with us.
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