EBITDA multiples in Poland and CEE in 2026. What is a company worth?

“What EBITDA multiple do companies in our industry sell for?” is one of the first questions an owner asks. There is an answer, but it only makes sense once you know which sector, company size and quality of earnings you are comparing against.

1. What is an EBITDA multiple?

The EV/EBITDA multiple shows how many times normalised annual EBITDA a buyer pays for the whole business. The result is enterprise value: the value of the operating business before debt and cash are taken into account.

Example: a company with EBITDA of PLN 4m at a multiple of 5.3x has an enterprise value of about PLN 21m. The amount the owner receives, equity value, only emerges after deducting net debt and settling working capital.

2. What is the average multiple in Poland and CEE?

According to the M&A Monitor CEE (Dealsuite, August 2026), the average EBITDA multiple for mid-sized companies in the region is 5.3x. The survey covered 107 M&A advisory firms and transactions in the first half of 2026 involving companies with revenue of EUR 1–50m.

The average is stable: it was also 5.3x in the second half of 2025. Behind that number, however, lie very large differences between sectors and between companies of different size.

3. EBITDA multiples by sector

Healthcare and pharma, software and IT services are valued highest. Hospitality, construction and retail are valued lowest. The gap between the extremes exceeds 3.5 turns of EBITDA.

Why the differences? Buyers pay more for predictability and growth: recurring revenue, high barriers to entry, regulation that limits competition, low capital intensity and advantages that are hard to copy. Sectors with thin margins, strong cyclicality or heavy capex are valued more cautiously.

The typical range matters as much as the average. Healthcare companies usually trade at 7.0–8.5x EBITDA, wholesale at 3.9–5.0x. Where a specific company lands within its range depends on its quality, not on the name of its sector.

4. Company size: the larger the EBITDA, the higher the multiple

Multiples rise with company size. A business with EUR 10m EBITDA is valued at 6.6x on average, a business with EUR 200k EBITDA at 4.0x. Per euro of earnings, that is a difference of about 65%.

This is the small-company risk premium. Smaller businesses depend more often on the owner and a few key customers, have a thinner management structure and are less resilient to market swings. They also attract fewer potential buyers and are harder to finance, which weakens competition in a sale process.

The report gives no multiple for companies with EBITDA below EUR 200k. Their value depends largely on the individual situation and potential, and their results are often too volatile to be a reliable basis for valuation.

“Many of the factors that depress a small company’s multiple cannot be changed in three months. In two to three years, they can.”

5. Poland and CEE compared with the rest of Europe

On average, Central and Eastern Europe is no longer clearly cheaper than the West. In the first half of 2026 the average multiple was 5.4x in DACH, the UK and Ireland, the Nordics and Southern Europe, 5.3x in France and CEE, and 5.0x in the Netherlands.

The differences appear at sector level. According to the European M&A Monitor (Dealsuite, March 2026, data for H2 2025), software and IT services in CEE were valued lowest in Europe: software at 6.9x against up to 8.9x in other regions. CEE wholesale (4.6x), on the other hand, was among the highest-valued in Europe, and industry was close to Western levels.

For owners, this is an argument for including foreign buyers in a sale process, especially in sectors where Western European valuations are higher. For investors, it points to where pricing opportunities may still exist in the region.

6. Why a company may be valued differently from the average

An average multiple describes the market, not a specific company. Two businesses in the same sector with the same EBITDA can sell for very different amounts. Position within the range is driven mainly by:

• Quality and repeatability of EBITDA. Documented, justified adjustments and revenue that recurs.
• Independence from the owner. Does the company run smoothly when the owner is not making day-to-day decisions?
• Customer and supplier concentration. The greater the dependence on a few counterparties, the greater the risk for the buyer.
• Growth prospects. A credible plan based on data, not only on ambition.
• Working capital and investment needs. How much cash does the business absorb in order to grow?
• Competition between buyers. In CEE there are on average 5.3 seriously interested buyers per company for sale, but 7.5 in healthcare and 3.9 in wholesale. A well-run process increases that number.

7. How to use multiples without misleading yourself

A multiple is a useful cross-check, not a stand-alone valuation method. A few rules help avoid the most common mistakes:

• Compare with the right peer group. Same sector, similar size, same region and a similar point in the market.
• Think in ranges, not single numbers. Ask what moves the company up or down its range.
• Do not benchmark against listed companies or the largest transactions. They have different scale, liquidity and access to capital.
• Remember the bridge to equity value. Debt, cash, working capital and payment terms all change what the owner receives.

Do you know what moves your company towards the top, and what towards the bottom, of the range for your sector?

Data sources: Dealsuite, M&A Monitor CEE, August 2026 (107 advisory firms, transactions in H1 2026, companies with EUR 1–50m revenue) and Dealsuite, European M&A Monitor, March 2026 (848 advisory firms, data for H2 2025). More at www.dealsuite.com. Multiples are market averages and do not constitute a valuation of any specific company. Polish version: Mnożniki EBITDA w Polsce i CEE.