You want to sell your car wash? Then it's good to know what the acquisition market in the field of car washes looks like. Consumers are washing their cars in front of their doors less and less.
There has been significant growth in the number of consolidations in the carwash industry.
There are many ways to value a business. A common method of expressing the value of a business is "a factor x gross annual profit." This factor is also called multiple and another designation for gross annual profit is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization).
In the automotive sector, to which a car wash belongs, an indicative EBITDA multiple range of 3.8 to 4.5 is currently used, according to the Brookz Takeover Barometer. The average EBITDA multiple across all SME sectors is 4.90.
The valuation of a business is often the starting point for negotiations between buyer and seller. The outcome of these negotiations is the final sales price. So valuation and price are two different quantities. Besides valuation, the price is also determined by possible scarcity in the market, bargaining power of the parties, the strategic value of the business for the buyer and possible synergy effects for the buyer (cost savings, purchasing advantages).
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Want to buy a business or sell a business in the Automotive, Transport & Logistics sector? With this Brookz Sector Monitor, we want to present buyers and sellers with facts, figures and an outlook that provide insight into the number of transactions, the value development of businesses and the latest trends and developments in the Automotive, Transport & Logistics. Because in every buying or selling process, thorough preparation gives peace of mind, overview and structure.
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There are many startups in the market every year, which means that the number of businesses with one person working is relatively high.
In figures, the number of car washes in 2024 looked as follows(CBS):
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A number of trends and developments will inevitably bring about changes in the coming years, but also offer carwashes many growth and acquisition opportunities:
In addition to regular car washes, car washes for RVs and other large vehicles are on the rise. These wash bays include an extra-high platform and extra-long lance is used so that the top can also be properly cleaned, according to Carwashpro.
Many entrepreneurs are joining forces so that a large market share can be obtained. Branches are teaming up and the number of contractors is thinning out, while the number of consumers using carwashes is only increasing.
More and more people are discovering private leasing and, as a result, the contracts are also becoming more accessible to everyone. The disadvantage of these contracts for the car industry is that maintenance and service is vested in one fixed dealer. The car wash is not expected to be affected by this.
