An Australian security business is typically worth 2x to 5x its annual EBITDA — but that range covers a lot of ground, and where you land depends almost entirely on what type of security business you run. A labour-hire guarding operation and an alarm monitoring company with a strong book of Recurring Monthly Revenue are both “security businesses,” and they sell at completely different multiples for completely different reasons.
How Security Businesses Are Valued in Australia
The standard valuation method is an EBITDA multiple — the same approach used across most service businesses. You normalise your profit (stripping out owner perks, adding back one-off costs, adjusting for any family wages that are above or below market), then multiply that figure by a number that reflects your business’s risk and growth profile.
Rule of thumb: a security business with reliable recurring contracts sells for 3x–5x EBITDA. One without them sells for 2x–3x — and sometimes less if it’s genuinely owner-dependent.
What makes security businesses unusual is that some sub-sectors have their own valuation metrics that sit alongside or replace EBITDA multiples. Alarm monitoring businesses, in particular, are often valued on a multiple of Recurring Monthly Revenue (RMR) — typically 20x to 40x monthly RMR — because the income is so predictable that buyers price it differently to project-based work.
For context on how normalised EBITDA is calculated, see our piece on EBITDA add-backs when selling a business.
Valuation Multiples by Business Type
The security industry in Australia is not one market — it’s four or five distinct business models that happen to share a regulatory framework.
Security Guarding and Patrol
This is the largest segment by headcount and the hardest to sell at a premium. Guarding businesses run on thin margins (EBITDA of 5–10% is typical), face constant competitive tendering pressure, and are highly dependent on the owner for contract relationships and quality oversight.
| Business Profile | Indicative Sale Price |
|---|---|
| Owner-operator, small residential/retail guarding | $80K – $200K |
| 10–30 guards, mixed contracts, some management depth | $200K – $500K |
| 50+ guards, government or institutional contracts | $500K – $1.2M |
| Multi-site, systemised, long-term contract book | $1M – $3M+ |
Multiples for guarding businesses typically sit between 2x and 3x EBITDA. The ceiling is pushed up by long-term contracts (especially government) and pulled down by high staff turnover, owner-dependent client relationships, and short contract terms.
I worked with an owner of a 40-guard operation in Perth a couple of years back — solid revenue, good client mix, but he personally signed off on every site inspection and half the guards had his mobile number. The business looked good on paper; in practice, you couldn’t buy it without buying him. We spent six months shifting oversight to a site manager before going to market. The difference in buyer interest was significant.
Electronic Security — CCTV, Alarm Installation, Access Control
Electronic security companies — the businesses that design, install, and service CCTV systems, alarm panels, intercom systems, and access control — generally achieve better multiples than guarding operations because the margins are stronger and recurring revenue is easier to build.
Service and maintenance agreements are the real value driver here. An installation-only business sells at 3x–4x EBITDA at best. Add a recurring maintenance book generating $200K–$400K a year and the same business sells at 4x–5x — sometimes more if the maintenance revenue is contracted.
Buyers in this segment include national security groups (ASIAL members who are consolidating), private equity-backed platforms, and trade buyers from adjacent sectors like electrical.
Alarm Monitoring (Recurring Monthly Revenue)
If you operate a monitoring station, or if your installation business has grown a monitoring book, this is the most valuable component in Australian security. Monitoring revenue is almost perfectly recurring — customers almost never cancel, the cost to serve each account falls as you add volume, and churn is minimal.
Alarm monitoring books in Australia trade at 20x to 40x monthly RMR — equivalent to roughly 1.7x to 3.3x annual monitoring revenue.
A monitoring book generating $20,000 per month in RMR might sell for $400,000 to $800,000 — just for that revenue stream. When you combine a monitoring book with an installation business and a maintenance book, the combined business commands EBITDA multiples at the top of the sector range.
Cash-in-Transit and Specialist Security
Cash-in-transit (CIT) is a niche with high barriers to entry — regulatory requirements, purpose-built vehicles, bonded staff, and bank accreditation are not things you can replicate quickly. That barrier to entry supports valuations of 3x–5x EBITDA for well-established operators. There are very few buyers nationally, so sale processes tend to be negotiated rather than competitive.
What Drives Your Multiple Up or Down
The EBITDA number is your starting point. The multiple applied to it reflects how confident a buyer is that the earnings will continue and grow after you leave.
Recurring contracts: A security business where 60%+ of revenue comes from contracts rather than one-off jobs is materially more valuable. Buyers will pay for certainty.
Owner dependency: If you hold the key security licence for your company — and there’s no backup licence holder — that’s a risk any buyer has to price in. (This is the security industry’s version of key person risk.) Multiple licensed supervisors in your team is one of the cleanest ways to increase your multiple.
Customer concentration: A single client representing more than 20–25% of revenue is a yellow flag; above 40% is a red one. Buyers discount heavily when one lost contract could meaningfully change the business.
Licensing and compliance record: ASIAL membership, clean state licensing history, and an up-to-date WHS framework matter to institutional buyers and PE-backed acquirers. A company with licensing breaches on record is harder to sell and will attract lower bids — or conditions around escrow or indemnities.
Systems and management depth: Can the business run for two weeks without you? If not, you’re selling a job, not a business. A team with a site manager, an admin/scheduling function, and documented operating procedures adds real value — not just in multiples but in the pool of buyers willing to buy.
What Buyers Are Looking For
The buyer pool for Australian security businesses includes trade buyers (other security companies acquiring territory, licences, or monitoring books), PE-backed roll-up platforms (which have been active in this sector), and occasionally private acquirers looking for a cash-generative business in a resilient industry.
Each type has different priorities:
- Trade buyers want your contracts, your team, your geographic coverage, or your monitoring book. They can pay strategic premiums and often absorb your cost base into their existing operation.
- PE-backed platforms want EBITDA, systems, and a management team they can retain. They’ll pay top multiples for businesses that don’t need the founder, and much less for ones that do.
- Individual buyers are typically looking for owner-operated businesses under $1M — they want a liveable income from day one, which means they’re sensitive to owner dependency in a different way.
Read more about what buyers look for when buying a business — the principles apply across sectors.
Preparing Your Security Business for Sale
The gap between what a security business could sell for and what it actually sells for is almost always explained by preparation — or the lack of it.
Three things that reliably move the needle:
Build your recurring revenue base. Every installation you do is an opportunity to sign a maintenance agreement or add a monitoring account. Buyers will pay a premium for that revenue; they won’t pay extra for your installation pipeline because they can’t bank on it.
Spread your licences. If you’re the only licensed individual in the business, fix that before you go to market. It’s not expensive; it just takes time. A second licensed supervisor removes a genuine sale risk.
Get your numbers clean. Three years of clear financials — with add-backs documented and defensible — is the difference between a smooth due diligence and a deal that falls over at the last minute. See our guide on preparing your business for sale.
The typical security business sale in Australia takes nine to twelve months from serious preparation to settlement. Start earlier than you think you need to. Read more about the timeline for selling a business in Australia.
Get a Proper Valuation
A back-of-envelope multiple on last year’s EBITDA gives you a starting point. It doesn’t tell you what a properly prepared, well-marketed business in your sub-sector should achieve, or how your current structure affects what buyers will offer.
If you’re a security business owner in Australia thinking about what your business is worth — or starting to plan a sale — talk to us at Miro Capital. We’ll give you a straight answer.
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