What is my PR agency worth in the UK?

A UK PR or communications agency is typically worth a multiple of its adjusted EBITDA, not a multiple of turnover. Where a firm sits in the range is set by the durability of its earnings: recurring revenue, client concentration, margin and how far the business depends on the founder. Tim Sutton helps owners understand the realistic figure for their firm and what would move it.

What is my PR agency worth? How UK PR agencies are valued

By Tim Sutton, senior reputational adviser and PR-agency M&A counsel · June 2026

A PR agency in the UK is typically worth a multiple of its adjusted EBITDA, with the range set by how durable the earnings are, not by last year's revenue. Tim Sutton advises founders on what their agency is really worth and what moves the number, sell-side, acting for one side on any deal.

Most owners start with turnover. Buyers do not. They price the profit they can rely on after you have gone: the share of income that recurs, how concentrated it is in a handful of clients, the margin, and how much of the relationship and the new business sits with the founder. Two agencies with the same revenue can be worth very different sums once a buyer has looked at the durability of the earnings. The headline multiple matters less than whether the profit behind it is real and repeatable.

For what a buyer actually pays for, and when to start, see selling a PR agency: what buyers actually price. For who advises on the deal itself, see who advises on PR agency M&A in the UK.

See the sell-side readiness scorecard Speak with Tim in confidence

Common questions

What multiple do UK PR agencies sell for?

There is no single multiple. UK PR and communications agencies change hands at a multiple of adjusted EBITDA, and the multiple is driven by quality, not size alone: predictable recurring income, a low concentration of clients, healthy margins and a firm that runs without the founder all push it up. Tim Sutton gives owners a grounded view of the range for their specific firm rather than a headline number.

How is adjusted EBITDA calculated for a PR agency?

You start from profit and normalise it: add back one-off costs, above-market owner salaries and personal expenses, and strip out anything that would not continue under a new owner, to show the true, repeatable profit a buyer is actually buying. A clean, defensible set of adjusted numbers is often worth more to the final price than the headline multiple.

What lowers a PR agency's valuation?

The things that make the profit look fragile: heavy dependence on the founder, income concentrated in two or three clients, project work that does not recur, a thin second tier, and contracts that renew only when the founder is in the room. Each of these is fixable, which is why the work to build value is best started well before a sale.

Who can value my PR agency for a sale?

For a confidential, realistic view, work with an adviser who knows what agency buyers actually pay for, not only an accountant running a formula. Tim Sutton advises PR and communications agency owners on what their firm is worth, what is quietly discounting it, and how to build value before a sale. You can also see how your firm scores with his sell-side readiness scorecard.

Tim Sutton is a senior reputational adviser to boards in their hardest moments and counsel to PR-agency principals on both sides of a transaction. timsuttonpr.com · LinkedIn · Privacy · Legal