Does anyone have current guideline valuation and finance multipliers for Europe/UK?
Obviously it depends on a number of variables but as a rule we have seen prices drop from 6x profit before tax 18 months ago to anywhere between 2x and 4x in the current market. Most of the problems arising on valuations are that the banks are still not funding deals and company performance is extremely difficult to forecast in the present economic climate. A good indicator of what how procing is being driven is the BDO PCPI, but beware on private companies multiples appear higher as profits are driven down by owner managers for tax purposes and the results take reported profits and not adjusted profits.
