New Zealand Business Valuation Multiples by Industry: The 2026 Benchmark Guide

New Zealand Business Valuation Multiples by Industry: The 2026 Benchmark Guide

The single biggest driver of a small business valuation isn't the formula — it's the multiple. Two cafés with identical $100,000 SDE can be worth $130,000 or $250,000 depending on which multiple applies, and industry is the first and biggest factor in that number. Below is a full breakdown of the SDE multiple ranges we use across every industry category in our AI Valuation tool, so you can see roughly where your business sits before you run the numbers.

How to Read an SDE Multiple

The formula is simple: Business Value ≈ SDE × Multiple (plus the value of stock and, often, equipment, added on top — see our complete NZ valuation guide for the full method). SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) is explained in detail in our SDE vs EBITDA guide — in short, it's the total financial benefit an owner-operator gets from running the business themselves in a year.

Every range below has a low, average, and high end. Where your business lands within that range depends on factors like lease security, owner reliance, customer concentration, trading history, and growth trend — not just which industry box you tick. A business with a weak lease and one dominant customer sits near the bottom of its range; a business with a strong lease, diversified customers, and a growth trend sits near the top.

Food & Beverage

Food & beverage sits at the lower end of the overall multiple spectrum — these businesses are typically owner-intensive, have thin margins, and face high staff turnover, all of which weigh multiples down.

Retail

Pharmacy stands out here — licensing requirements and consistent, recurring prescription revenue push it well above general retail.

Services

Professional services (accounting, legal) command higher multiples thanks to recurring client relationships and lower reliance on physical premises.

Hospitality & Accommodation

Manufacturing

Technology & IT

Technology carries the highest multiples of any category — SaaS in particular, thanks to recurring subscription revenue, low marginal cost of growth, and (usually) far less owner-dependence than a service business.

Health & Beauty

Automotive

Construction & Trades

Education & Training

Childcare is a notable outlier — regulatory licensing and consistent, contracted enrolment fees support a premium multiple relative to other education businesses.

Agriculture & Rural

Transport & Distribution

Entertainment & Leisure

Franchise & Other

Franchises typically carry a premium over an equivalent independent business, reflecting brand recognition, an established operating system, and (usually) territory protection — offset somewhat by ongoing franchise fees.

A Note on These Multiples

These ranges are industry benchmarks, not guarantees — built from typical NZ market patterns, not a live feed of actual completed sale prices. A specific business can reasonably sell outside its industry range in either direction based on factors a generic table can't capture: an exceptional lease, an owner-independent operating model, a uniquely loyal customer base, or conversely a business overly reliant on one client or an ageing, unmotivated ownership situation. Multiples are a starting point for a conversation, not the final word — treat any valuation, including ours, as an informed estimate rather than a formal appraisal.

How OpenBiz Applies These

Our free AI Valuation tool starts from these same industry ranges, then adjusts up or down within the range based on the specific details you provide — lease term remaining, staff structure, customer concentration, trading history, growth trend, and several other quality factors. The result is a conservative / neutral / optimistic value range tailored to your actual business, not just a generic industry number.

Want to see where your business lands? Run a free valuation — no sign-up, results in about two minutes.