Support services business valuation benchmarks for New Zealand
Valuation evidence for New Zealand administrative and support services businesses, drawn from 333 verified cleaning, pest control, gardening and business-support sales recorded by licensed NZ business brokers. Indexed price trends, median time-to-sell, recent comparables and a regional heatmap, covering ANZSIC Division N nationwide.
The state of the NZ support services business sales market
Administrative and Support Services (ANZSIC Division N) covers commercial and industrial cleaning, building pest control, gardening and grounds maintenance, and a range of business-support services. Bizstats has recorded 333 sales in the category. Auckland accounts for roughly 46% of transactions.
This is a smaller market, and the modest annual sample makes its indexed series unusually volatile: the indexed median sale price has ranged from as low as 35 to as high as 287, sitting at 178 by 2025. Read the multi-year trend rather than any single year. On that basis sale prices have risen a cumulative 78%.
Many support services businesses run on recurring contracts, commercial cleaning rounds, pest-control servicing schedules, grounds-maintenance agreements, which gives buyers a degree of forward visibility. The SDE multiple index sits at 114, modestly above its baseline, though its wide 58-146 range underlines how much contract quality varies between businesses.
Sale price and SDE multiple figures are indexed to 2010 = 100. The +% values show cumulative change since the 2010 baseline. The full dollar medians, by sub-category, are available in a Bizstats valuation report.
Indexed median support services sale price
Median sale price for New Zealand support services business transactions, indexed to 2010 = 100. The underlying dollar medians by sub-category are published in the Bizstats valuation report.
Commentary: The support services price index is the most volatile Bizstats tracks, ranging from 35 to 287 on a 2010 = 100 basis and sitting at 178 by 2025. No single year is a reliable reading; the multi-year trend points to a cumulative 78% rise.
Indexed median support services SDE multiple
Median SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) multiple paid for New Zealand support services businesses, indexed to 2010 = 100. The price index tracks what businesses sell for; the SDE multiple index tracks what buyers are paying per dollar of earnings. Actual multiples by sub-category are published in a Bizstats valuation report.
Commentary: The SDE multiple index has moved through a wide 58-146 band and sits at 114 by 2025, modestly above the 2010 baseline. The breadth of that band reflects how much value rides on contract quality: a book of secure, long-dated recurring contracts commands a very different multiple from ad-hoc work.
What buyers pay for in a support services business sale
The average split of the sale price into tangible assets, stock and intangibles (brand, customer base and other non-physical value) for NZ support services business transactions, year by year. Each bar is a 100% view: it shows the mix, not the dollar value.
- Tangibles
- Stock
- Intangibles
| Year | Tangibles | Stock | Intangibles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6% | 0% | 94% |
| 2012 | 15% | 2% | 83% |
| 2013 | 17% | 0% | 83% |
| 2014 | 17% | 0% | 83% |
| 2015 | 7% | 0% | 93% |
| 2016 | 12% | 0% | 88% |
| 2018 | 9% | 0% | 91% |
| 2019 | 12% | 1% | 87% |
| 2021 | 9% | 0% | 91% |
| 2022 | 3% | 0% | 97% |
| 2023 | 10% | 0% | 90% |
| 2024 | 6% | 0% | 94% |
| 2025 | 20% | 0% | 80% |
Commentary: Administrative and support businesses (cleaning, security, staffing, facilities) run light on hard assets. By 2025 the median sale split about 20% tangible assets, 0% stock and 80% intangibles, the largest single component. The intangible share has moved from 94% in 2010 to 80% (-14 points): contracts, client relationships and trained staff carry the value.
Median time-to-sell for NZ support services businesses
Median months from listing to unconditional sale for NZ support services business transactions. A leading indicator of buyer demand. Tighter time-to-sell signals stronger competition for available stock.
Commentary: Time-to-sell has improved sharply, from around 8 months in 2010 to 4 months by 2025. As recurring-contract businesses have become better understood by buyers, well-presented support services listings with a clear contract base have moved faster than they once did.
Recent support services business sales in NZ
A sample of recent anonymised support services transactions. Each row shows ANZSIC sub-category, region, revenue, SDE and sale month, with revenue and SDE rounded to the nearest $100,000. Full anonymised comparables with exact sale prices and SDE multiples are in a Bizstats valuation report.
| ANZSIC | Region | Revenue | SDE | SDE X | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building and Other Industrial Cleaning Services | Auckland | $600,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Mar 2026 |
| Building and Other Industrial Cleaning Services | Auckland | $600,000 | $300,000 | ••• | Nov 2025 |
| Other Administrative Services n.e.c. | Auckland | $600,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Nov 2025 |
| Building and Other Industrial Cleaning Services | Otago | $600,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Nov 2025 |
| Building and Other Industrial Cleaning Services | Otago | $800,000 | $400,000 | ••• | Oct 2025 |
| Building Pest Control Services | Otago | $300,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Oct 2025 |
| Gardening Services | Otago | $200,000 | $100,000 | ••• | Sep 2025 |
| Gardening Services | Canterbury | $700,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Sep 2025 |
| Building and Other Industrial Cleaning Services | Otago | $900,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Aug 2025 |
| Building and Other Industrial Cleaning Services | Auckland | $500,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Aug 2025 |
See what they actually sold for. A Bizstats valuation report unlocks exact sale prices, SDE multiples and time-to-sell for support services businesses by ANZSIC sub-category.
Create a Bizstats report →Sample drawn from 333 verified support services transactions, updated as new sales are recorded by our network of licensed NZ business brokers.
Support services business sales by NZ region
Support services transaction activity and median time-to-sell mapped across New Zealand's 16 regions. Auckland leads with 154 recorded sales. Several regions fall below the reporting threshold for time-to-sell. Switch the metric to compare regions, and click any region for its benchmarks.
| Region | Transactions | Median time-to-sell (months) |
|---|---|---|
| Northland | 0 | Insufficient sample |
| Auckland | 154 | 4 |
| Waikato | 20 | 4 |
| Bay of Plenty | 33 | 3 |
| Gisborne | 0 | Insufficient sample |
| Taranaki | 20 | 2.5 |
| Manawatu | 6 | Insufficient sample |
| Hawke's Bay | 4 | Insufficient sample |
| Wellington | 19 | 4 |
| Tasman | 0 | Insufficient sample |
| Nelson | 6 | Insufficient sample |
| Marlborough | 3 | Insufficient sample |
| West Coast | 0 | Insufficient sample |
| Canterbury | 39 | 2.5 |
| Otago | 26 | 3.5 |
| Southland | 3 | Insufficient sample |
Put these support services benchmarks to work
Apply Bizstats support services benchmarks to a specific business: your own, a target acquisition or a comparable you're researching. Three free tools, no signup, real insights.
Work out Seller's Discretionary Earnings for a cleaning, pest control or support-services business, step by step.
Calculate SDEStart hereApply industry multiples to your SDE and get a market value estimate in seconds.
Try for FreeCalculate the return on investment for a support services business purchase.
Calculate ROISupport services business valuation FAQ
ANZSIC Division N covers commercial and industrial cleaning, building pest control, gardening and grounds maintenance, and a range of business-support services. Bizstats has recorded 333 sales across the category.
It is a smaller market, and each year's median rests on only a modest number of recorded sales. That makes the indexed series swing sharply, the price index has ranged from 35 to 287. The reliable signal is the multi-year trend, not any single year.
It depends heavily on the contract base. A business with secure, long-dated recurring contracts, commercial cleaning rounds or pest-control servicing schedules, commands a stronger SDE multiple than one reliant on ad-hoc work. The Bizstats index sits modestly above its 2010 baseline, but with a wide range. Exact multiples by sub-category are in a Bizstats valuation report.
Median time-to-sell has improved markedly, from around 8 months in 2010 to 4 months by 2025. Buyers increasingly understand recurring-contract businesses, so well-presented listings with a clear contract base move faster than they used to.
The dataset is updated monthly as new transactions flow in from our network of licensed New Zealand business brokers. Recorded coverage reaches back well over a decade, and the indexed trends on this page are benchmarked from 2010.
About this page
The benchmark figures, charts and recent comparables above are drawn from 333 verified support services business sales recorded by licensed NZ business brokers. The written analysis is generated from that data and reviewed by the Bizstats team, and is refreshed as new sales are recorded. These are indicative market benchmarks, not a formal valuation. See our Terms of Use.
Benchmarks last updated .
Learn more about business valuation
Guides that explain the metrics behind these support services benchmarks: SDE, earnings multiples, the ANZSIC classification and how market-based valuation works.
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Value Modifiers in Business Valuation
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Common Misconceptions About SME Business Valuations
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Understanding ANZSIC
ANZSIC codes classify business data, simplifying your search for accurate comparables on Bizstats.
Market Based Valuation 101
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