Business Valuation: Why Buyers Ignore Your EBITDA Multiple - Mark Mills, OBE
Business Valuation: Why Buyers Ignore Your EBITDA Multiple - Mark Mills, OBE  
Podcast: King Dems Podcast | Growth Mindset, Leadership, AI and Business Insights
Published On: Wed Sep 02 2026
Description: Business valuation isn't a multiple of EBITDA. Cop a copy of my new book NOW: https://ademolaodewade.comTurn expertise into paid advisory work — Ethos (paid link): https://agent.askethos.com/refer/nd01w7e2eelwAI labs pay highly-skilled experts — Mercor (paid link): https://t.mercor.com/neABbBuild the buyer deck in minutes — Gamma (paid link): https://try.gamma.app/f2d4kygskm1hMark Mills OBE started Cardpoint plc from scratch in 2000. Two years later it floated on AIM at a £7 million valuation. By 2006 it was turning over £100 million a year on £19.8 million of EBITDA, and he exited in 2007 at £175 million.He now sells other people's businesses. One owner was told his company was worth £3 million. Mark sold it for just over £10 million. Nothing changed in the accounts — what changed was who the business was presented to, and why they needed it.In this episode:- Why bids from strategic buyers don't resemble a multiple of EBITDA- The £3m-to-£10m sale, and the buyer maths that produced it- Rule one of any business model: recurring income — learned from a payphone business that died in the 1991 recession- How Mark and his CFO reverse-engineered £100m of revenue onto a sheet of paper, then landed within 2%- Why "in three years" is a useless target and "by 31 August 2029" is not- Solving a working capital problem by finding a bank with too much physical cash- The one metric he never ignores when assessing a company for sale- FARM — why people work for Fun, Achievement, Recognition, then Money, in that order- Selling to strangers, and why referrals cannot scale a business- What AI actually changes about client acquisition and KPI monitoring- Realistic exit timelines: 12 to 30 months, not sixMark's book is Making Your Mark: How I Built a Fortune From £1.50 — and You Can Too. He offered listeners a free signed copy — email him at mark@mark.co.uk with your address and he'll send one out.More from Mark: www.mark.co.uk · linkedin.com/in/markrichardmillsHosted by Ademola Odewade — chartered accountant, author of Human-Led, AI-Powered Finance (foreword by Professor Dave Ulrich), and Founder of K-Dems Consulting.The King Dems Podcast. Growth Mindset, Leadership, AI and Business Insights. Ranked in the global top 2% of podcasts.Diary of a CFO. Finance leadership, unfiltered. Ranked in the global top 2.5% of podcasts.This description contains paid links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.#BusinessValuation #ExitStrategy #DiaryOfACFO #KingDemsPodcast