US vs Europe – differences in lower middle market?

March 18, 2026

by an investor from Universiteit Antwerpen in Willebroek, België

Hi all, I’m new here and looking at this from a Belgian / European perspective. We’ve been active as operator-investors in Europe, mainly in the €1–5M EBITDA range, and I’m currently trying to better understand how the US market compares. One thing that stood out to me: on some platforms, US deals seem to trade at slightly lower multiples than what we typically see in Europe. Curious how you see this: is this a real structural difference (more fragmentation / dealflow in the US)? or are these simply less competitive deals that don’t reflect the broader market? And one more question: where do you actually see the most competition today — brokered deals, or more in proprietary / off-market situations? Would appreciate any honest insights. Best, Friso Haerens Haerens & Partners

Reply by a searcher
from Trinity University in Gent, Belgium

One big difference is (I think) that PE hasn't moved into the 1-5 million EBITDA in the US while it's definitely the pond where plenty of European family offices and PE are fishing in.

Reply by an intermediary
in Manchester, UK

I can only comment on the UK. The M&A/CF adviser market in the UK is more developed, the US is more reliant on brokers. This has all sorts of ramifications. The number one thing that jumps out is UK multiples will generally be calculated properly (fully costed EBITDA, acquiring all operating assets to sustain that EBITDA). Whereas US multiples quoted often use SDE or add balance sheet items (e.g. stock or working capital) on top of the headline price. This is partly due to tax regime and law - UK transaction are almost always share purchases, from what I understand US sales lean towards trade & asset purchases.

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