Valuation multiples · UAE
Light manufacturing and industrial SMEs transact around 5–6× EBITDA. Buyers pay for a order book that repeats, plant that has been maintained honestly, and certifications that open doors — and they verify all three before the multiple means anything.
EBITDA leads, but in manufacturing it is always read against capex: normalised earnings are EBITDA minus the maintenance capex the plant actually needs. A factory that has under-invested for five years does not have the EBITDA it reports — and diligence will say so.
These are SME transaction bands from global deal data — open-source GCC/MENA SME comps are too thin to quote as a separate series, so treat the range as the starting grid, not a Gulf-specific promise. They are not public-market multiples: a quoted comparable carries a size and illiquidity discount of roughly 15–35% before it applies to a private SME. Size then moves you within the band — larger, cleaner businesses clear the top; smaller, owner-dependent ones price near the bottom.
A forward order book with repeat customers across industries supports the top of the band. Dependence on one offtaker — common in UAE industrial SMEs serving a single large project pipeline — moves price into structure.
Maintenance logs, realistic depreciation and a replacement plan are worth real money. Buyers assume deferred capex is hiding somewhere; proving it isn’t lets your EBITDA stand at full value.
ISO lines, Esma/specification approvals, and export certifications are transferable assets that shortcut a buyer’s time-to-revenue. Keep them current and held by the company, not a person.
Contracts with indexation or demonstrated repricing power through raw-material swings show margin resilience. Fixed-price exposure to volatile inputs is priced as risk against the band.
Multiplying earnings by a band produces an enterprise value (EV). What a sale actually puts in your pocket is equity value: EV minus debt and debt-like items (shareholder loans, end-of-service liabilities, overdue payables), plus genuinely surplus cash, adjusted for working capital. Two businesses with identical EV can hand their owners very different proceeds once that bridge is built — which is why our calculator returns both numbers, not just the headline.
Light-manufacturing SMEs cluster around 5–6× EBITDA (global SME bands; no quotable open UAE series). The practical variance is usually in normalised earnings — maintenance capex, owner salaries, related-party costs — rather than the multiple itself.
Plant required to generate the earnings is inside enterprise value. Surplus equipment or land can be negotiated separately or handled in the bridge. What matters is honest capex: a buyer prices the plant the business needs, not the book value of everything on site.
It changes buyer universe and deal mechanics more than the band: customs treatment, ownership structure and lease tenure differ by jurisdiction, and some buyers need one or the other. Surface it early — it shapes who can pay top-of-band at all.
The free calculator applies these same bands to your numbers — the earnings basis chosen by company size, the position inside the band set by quality — and returns an enterprise-value range with the EV→equity bridge, not a single flattering point.
Indicative only. This figure is an automated, indicative estimate generated from the limited information you provided and from general market data for comparable companies. It is not a valuation, an appraisal, a fairness opinion, or financial, investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it is not an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell any business or security. Every business is different; an indicative range produced from sector averages can differ materially from the price an actual buyer or investor would pay.
No reliance; subject to diligence. Fiducia Adamantina gives no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of this estimate and accepts no liability for any decision taken in reliance on it. Any real valuation depends on full financial and legal due diligence, the specific facts of your business, and prevailing market conditions at the time of a transaction. You should not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of this output alone. For a defensible assessment, speak to us directly.
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