How Proplexo Value works

What it gives you

An indicative range for the value of a UK business as a whole – its enterprise value. That assumes the business is sold with a normal level of working capital and without its cash or borrowings. What the owners finally receive can be higher or lower once cash, borrowings, tax and the terms of a deal are taken into account. The range is based on profit. It does not separately value any property, vehicles or equipment the business owns, which can matter more than profit for some businesses.

What you tell us

Your sector, how long the business has traded, a turnover band, roughly how much profit it makes, and who works in it. We do not ask for your name, your accounts or your company number to show a result.

Allowing for the owners’ work

A buyer would need to pay someone to do the job the owners do. If the owners take less than a normal salary for that work, we allow for the difference between what they take and the market cost of the role, using Office for National Statistics earnings data for managers in your sector, adjusted by Proplexo for the size of the business.

The evidence

Our benchmark is built by Proplexo from completed UK acquisitions of private businesses, using deals announced by listed buyers and figures from the companies’ filed accounts. Our direct evidence covers businesses with profits of roughly £500,000 to £2 million. We do not publish the underlying data.

How the range is set

For larger businesses, the range comes directly from that benchmark. For smaller businesses, our valuation model adjusts the benchmark for the size of the business, because smaller businesses usually sell for lower multiples of their profit. Where a business is smaller than the businesses our evidence covers directly, the range is extended from that evidence and is wider because it is less direct. The benchmark multiple is the same across the supported sectors; sector is used to estimate the cost of the owners’ role and to check that the method suits the business.

When we need more information

If the profit left once the owners’ work is paid for is low, an earnings figure alone may not give a useful picture, so we ask a few more questions about assets, contracts and anything else a buyer would pay for. Where an earnings-based range is supportable we show it – noting anything it leaves out. Where it isn’t, we explain why and suggest a closer look. We do not show a range if the business has traded for less than two years, or if the sector is usually valued on property or licences rather than profit.

What it is not

It is not a formal valuation, a fairness opinion, a sale price or advice. It is not suitable for tax, legal proceedings, lending or financial reporting. Nothing is estimated for tax.

How it is kept up to date

The method is deterministic – the same answers under the same method version give the same range – and no AI is used to calculate it. The benchmark and salary assumptions are reviewed on a scheduled basis. Every result is recorded with the version of the method used.

Limits of the method

Proplexo Value is deliberately simplified. The result should be read with these limits in mind:

• Profit is used as a simplified measure. This can understate businesses with heavy depreciation or finance costs.
• The allowance for owners’ work uses national pay data. It may not match local pay levels or the exact work the owners do.
• One benchmark is used across all supported sectors.
• The range is based on one year’s profit and does not reflect every factor that can affect a sale price.

The methodology was reviewed by an independent valuation expert in October 2026. The review covers the methodology, not individual results.