What Is My Security Company Worth in New Brunswick?

New Brunswick's security services sector is experiencing genuine buyer interest right now. The province's mix of aging commercial real estate, growing residential developments, and the continued consolidation of regional service providers has made locally-rooted security companies attractive acquisition targets for search funds, regional PE firms, and strategic buyers expanding Maritime operations. If you have built a security business here over the past decade or more, you are sitting in a market where buyers are actively writing cheques, and understanding what your company is actually worth has moved from theoretical to urgent.

What Drives the Value of Security Services Businesses in New Brunswick

Buyers in the security space value predictability above all else. Recurring monthly revenue from contracts, long-term client relationships, and steady employee retention form the foundation of valuation. A security company with 70% of revenue locked into annual or multi-year commercial contracts will command a higher multiple than one relying on irregular job-based work. Similarly, the depth of your management team matters enormously. If you are the only salesperson, the primary technician, and the operator handling customer complaints, that concentration of risk depresses value significantly. Buyers also scrutinise customer concentration: if three clients account for 40% of revenue, they will worry about post-acquisition attrition and adjust the price accordingly. Contract quality, meaning documented terms with clear renewal dates and pricing escalation clauses, separates premium valuations from discounted ones. Growth trajectory over the past three years signals market position and competitive strength. A company growing 8-12% annually in a stable market attracts more aggressive bidding than a flat or declining competitor.

EBITDA Multiples: What to Expect in New Brunswick

Security services businesses in Atlantic Canada typically trade at 4.5x to 6.5x EBITDA, with the range depending heavily on contract quality and growth. A well-run operation with strong recurring revenue, documented customer agreements, and a capable management team will land near 6x or even slightly above. A company with weak contracts, high customer turnover, and owner dependency will settle closer to 4.5x or below. National consolidated players and regional PE firms acquiring in the Maritimes are currently competitive on pricing, which means the New Brunswick market is not suffering from buyer scarcity. However, multiples remain modest compared to high-growth software or specialised services because security remains fundamentally a labour-intensive, regulated business with moderate margins. To illustrate the practical difference: a $500,000 EBITDA security company valued at 5.5x would be worth approximately $2.75 million, while the same business at 5x would value at $2.5 million. That half-multiple difference represents real money, and it hinges entirely on contract documentation, customer stability, and team depth.

What Drags Your Valuation Down

• Owner as sole salesperson or primary business generator: If customers call you directly and relationships die if you walk away, buyers fear immediate revenue loss and will discount heavily.
• Verbal customer agreements or no documented renewal terms: Buyers cannot underwrite future revenue if contracts exist only in conversation or lack clear expiry dates.
• Inconsistent or informal bookkeeping: If your tax returns do not align with your operational records or if expenses are poorly categorised, buyers assume hidden liabilities and deduct a 'quality of earnings' discount of 10-20%.
• Key-man risk with no succession plan: If your operations manager or lead technician is in their 60s with no second-in-command trained, buyers see a cliff risk and reduce valuation.
• No non-compete agreements from departing owners or principals: If a former owner or manager can legally open a competing security firm and poach your clients, your buyer inherits legal risk.
• Weak or undocumented employee training and certification records: Security licensing and background check compliance are mandatory; if records are scattered or incomplete, deal closure delays and post-close liability fears emerge.

How to Get an Accurate Valuation in New Brunswick

Two methods dominate security company valuations. The EBITDA multiple approach multiplies your normalised earnings by an industry multiple (typically 4.5x to 6.5x in this market). Normalised means adjusting for one-time expenses, owner perks, or unusual items so that your reported profit reflects sustainable operating performance. If you paid yourself a $200,000 bonus in 2023 that you would not repeat, add that back. If you carry a company vehicle that a buyer would eliminate, remove that cost. The second method, seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), applies to smaller operations where the owner is still hands-on. SDE adds back the owner's salary and discretionary expenses to arrive at cash the buyer could extract. Both methods require three years of audited or reviewed tax returns, clean P&L statements broken out by service line, a current customer list with contract values and renewal dates, employee roster with compensation, and a normalisation schedule explaining all adjustments. Online valuation calculators are unreliable for security businesses because they cannot account for contract quality, customer concentration, or local market conditions specific to New Brunswick. A formal business valuation, prepared by a CPA or M&A advisor familiar with the Atlantic security market, costs $3,000 to $7,000 and gives you a defensible range you can share with serious buyers.

What Buyers Are Actually Paying Right Now in New Brunswick

Deal structures in the New Brunswick security market reflect the mix of buyer types and the asset-light nature of the business. Most deals close with 70-90% cash at the closing table, funded by the buyer's debt facility, equity, or both. The remainder typically takes the form of an earnout tied to post-close customer retention over 12-24 months, or a seller note secured by the customer contracts. A typical earnout might retain 15-20% of the purchase price and release it in tranches if revenue holds steady after closing. Transaction timelines from first buyer meeting to closing currently run 6-12 months for a well-prepared process. This timeline accounts for buyer due diligence, lender approval, regulatory sign-offs (if the buyer is a larger consolidator), and working capital adjustments. In New Brunswick specifically, you will likely see bidders from regional PE firms with Maritime offices, national search fund managers expanding eastward, and one or two strategic consolidators already operating security franchises in the province. That competitive tension currently supports valuations in the upper half of the multiple range. Deals stalling or slipping happen most often when sellers balk at transition costs (you or a manager staying on for 60-90 days post-close, often at cost) or when customer contracts unravel during due diligence because terms were unclear or informal.