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The headline numbers being paid for UK fire and security businesses look high compared with most service sectors. They are. There are good structural reasons for that — and they tell the owner-manager something useful about what to do between now and a sale.
When a care home owner first calls us about selling, the second question after price is almost always some version of: who would actually buy this? The real buyer universe in 2026 is wider, more international and more polarised than most owners realise.
Supported living is now the fastest-growing model in UK adult social care, and the buyer universe has followed. If you run a supported-living business with strong tenancies, low voids and diversified commissioners, you are sitting on a more saleable asset than most registered care operators.
Online calculators will give you a number. Whether the number is right depends on three things they don't ask about: your CQC rating, your normalised EBITDA, and the segment of the buyer pool your business actually sits in.
Security systems has matured into a credible PE-active sub-sector of Fire & Security, with NSI Gold and SSAIB accreditation as the principal moat. Here is where multiples sit, who is buying, and what separates a premium-grade business from a median one.
We speak to domiciliary care owners regularly who feel that what their business sells for in 2026 is materially below what they think it should be worth. The answer is rarely to find a different buyer — it's to build a better business in the two years before the sale.
Most failed business sales do not fail in due diligence. They fail before the first buyer is even contacted, and the cause is almost always something the seller could have fixed if they had known to look.
Five years ago, a £3m UK regulated business buyer was likely trade or PE. Today, experienced operators are entering ownership — funded, prepared, and competing with institutions. That shift matters for sellers.
For specialist educational needs schools, buyer demand is stronger than it has been in years. Preparation before a sale typically adds more value than negotiation during it.
Succession in a family-run care home is rarely about the business itself. It is about a founder's life's work, long-term residents, and whether the next generation wants to continue it. The numbers matter, but they are not where the conversation starts.
Most deals hit a bump. What matters is knowing how to handle it—and what to protect against before it happens. That is often the difference between a smooth completion and a retrade, delay, or failed deal.
Most first-time prep school buyers think they're buying a business. They're actually buying a regulated entity, a community, a property or lease, years of inspection history, and a reputation that shapes value. The numbers matter—but they're not where the story starts.
When I started working in education M&A two decades ago, the buyer universe for UK independent schools was substantially British. In 2026 it is meaningfully international — and the schools attracting the most competitive processes are those positioned to recognise it.
James Dixey founded Pilgrims Language Courses in 1973, built it over three decades, and sold it in the early 2000s at what was understood at the time to be a record multiple for the sector.
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Six weeks sounds like enough time to get a deal done. It isn't.
Business Asset Disposal Relief rises from 14% to 18% on 6 April 2026. Here's what that means practically if you're selling a business, and why the answer isn't as simple as "sell faster."
An overview of the key trends shaping the UK education market and what they mean if you are considering a sale.
