Administrative and support services in the United Kingdom
This page gathers the figures we hold on administrative and support services in the United Kingdom. Each section names its own source.
Each source groups industries its own way, so the edges of administrative and support services differ a little from section to section.
- Median sale multiple8.5times EBITDA
- EBITDA margin20.3%share of sales, 2024
- Still trading after three years52.7%of businesses started in 2021
- Earnings change+3.8%the year to June 2026
What businesses sold for
- Administrative and support services8.5 times EBITDA, middle half 7.0 to 10.5, 10+ deals
Deal details
Administrative and support services: median 8.5 times EBITDA. The middle half of deals ran from 7.0 to 10.5 times (10+ deals of £5.3 million to £263 million, announced 2009 to 2025).
Sizes are converted from our size range of A$10 million to A$500 million, at the fixed rate our database uses to place overseas deals: £1 = A$1.90. The rate stays fixed, so the range always describes the same deals.
What multiple will my business sell for?
In the United Kingdom, administrative and support services businesses bought between 2009 and 2025 sold for a median of 8.5 times EBITDA, across 10+ deals.
See what UK businesses sell for, by sector.
These are deals for UK businesses in our database, not every deal in the market.
Source: deals in our database with a published value. Counts by onestepright.
Compare sale multiples across countries.
Margins
In 2024, what was left after bought-in costs and staff costs came to 20.3% of sales across the industry. The measure is close to EBITDA.
Staff costs took 30.3% of sales, and purchases 49.7%.
What is the average profit margin in administrative and support services?
Across every administrative and support services business added together, sales less bought-in and staff costs came to 20.3% of sales in 2024. The measure is close to EBITDA.
Every business in the industry is added together, so the figures are not a typical business. The survey does not count owners' own pay as a cost, so the figure reads high where small businesses are many.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Business Survey, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratios computed by onestepright.
How many businesses are still trading
About 53 in every 100 were still trading three years later.
The ONS counts businesses registered for VAT or PAYE. The rate is our calculation from its counts.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Demography, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rates computed by onestepright.
Businesses that started and stopped
Each is a share of the businesses trading in 2024.
A business counts as stopped when it is no longer active on the ONS register of VAT and PAYE businesses. The rates are our calculation from ONS counts.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Demography, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rates computed by onestepright.
What costs did
What earnings and input prices did in this industry. Each comes from its own ONS series and grouping of industries. Earnings move with the mix of jobs and hours as well as with pay, so they are not a pay rate.
Each bar comes from its own ONS series, named below.
Average weekly earnings in administrative and support service, the ONS group nearest administrative and support services, rose 3.8% in the year to June 2026.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
No ONS price series measures this industry's inputs closely enough to show.
Prices businesses expect to charge
For October 2026, 11.1% of administrative and support services businesses expected to raise their prices. Across all businesses, 17.4% did.
With rental and hiring, as ONS groups them.
The ONS asks trading businesses about the month ahead, before it begins. Each business counts once, whatever its size.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Business Insights and Conditions Survey, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
See administrative and support services in Australia.
See administrative and support services in New Zealand.
See administrative and support services in Canada.
See administrative and support services in the United States.
Who in your business can move a price, and by how much? The pricing check takes about ten minutes.