Valuation: CHECKFIRE LTD

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Checkfire is a trade-only wholesale distributor and manufacturer of fire safety equipment, principally fire extinguishers under its Commander, CommanderEDGE and Contempo brands, plus fire door and fire-stopping products through its FireSealsDirect e-commerce division. Revenue is overwhelmingly product-based, split between repeat consumables (servicing parts, signage, seals) and capital items (extinguishers, cabinets, storage), with no significant recurring maintenance contracts disclosed. The customer base appears to be UK fire trade installers and facilities management companies, served through next-day distribution from its South Wales headquarters and a northern depot.

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Checkfire operates in the UK fire safety equipment distribution and manufacturing market, which is estimated at £500m–600m annually and growing at roughly 5–8% per year, driven by tightening building safety regulation following Grenfell, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and emerging lithium-ion battery fire risks from e-bikes and EVs.

Demand is structurally supported: building owners face stricter inspection regimes, social landlords must demonstrate compliance, and the retrofit cycle on older stock is accelerating. The market is fragmented, with a handful of national distributors (Chubb, Safelincs, Thomas Glover) alongside hundreds of regional servicing firms. Consolidation is underway: trade acquirers and private equity platforms are rolling up smaller servicing and distribution businesses to capture route density and cross-sell recurring services.

Over the next three to five years, expect continued mid-single-digit growth underpinned by regulation and ESG pressure, offset by possible margin compression as larger groups use scale on procurement. The main structural risk is PFAS regulation tightening faster than expected, forcing product reformulation costs across the industry.

For a seller in this market today, acquirer appetite is healthy and the window remains open while compliance-driven demand persists, though competition for assets is pushing multiples toward the top of the historic range.

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• Safelincs – online fire safety retailer with overlapping product range (inferred)
• Thomas Glover – UK fire extinguisher manufacturer, similar Commander positioning (inferred)
• Chubb Fire & Security – part of Carrier, large-scale trade and end-user supplier (inferred)
• Jewel Saffire – Midlands-based extinguisher distributor (inferred)
• Fireblitz – lower-cost extinguisher brand competing at value end (inferred)

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Reconstructed profit and loss, GBP, figures marked (est.) are derived

• EBITDA
• Additional gross profit
• Cost of sales to total revenue

£26.8m

£33.1m

£39m

£45m

FY2022 (est.)

GP n/d · EBITDA n/d

FY2023 (est.)

GP £7.9m · EBITDA £3.7m

76 employees

FY2024 (est.)

GP £9.9m · EBITDA £3.4m

100 employees

FY2025 (est.) (est.)

GP £11.5m · EBITDA £3.6m

115 (est.) employees

Basis: Revenue and gross profit for FY2024 and FY2023 are taken directly from the full audited accounts. FY2022 revenue is estimated by applying the 23.5% growth rate disclosed for FY2023 in reverse. EBITDA is estimated by adding back depreciation and amortisation (c.£360k implied from fixed asset movements and amortisation policy) to operating profit. FY2025 revenue is rolled forward at 15%, the midpoint of the disclosed 18% (FY2024) and our 8–20% growth assumption; gross margin held at 25.5% and EBITDA margin at 8% reflecting the FY2024 margin compression. Headcount for FY2025 is extrapolated from the 32% increase FY2023–24.

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Buyer notes: The balance sheet is relatively clean. Cash of £1.4m is offset by a small overdraft (£82k) and longer-term debt of £0.8m (largely hire purchase and bank loans), implying net debt of c.£0.6m at year-end 2024. The equity-to-EV bridge is therefore modest. Working capital is heavy: stock and debtors together run at c.30% of revenue, typical for distribution businesses but higher than asset-light peers. No property is held in the company; premises appear leased. A buyer would treat the £0.8m HP and loan balances as debt-like. No pension deficit or director loan is disclosed. The new holding company structure (Multishield Group Limited) created in March 2026 may mean completion occurs at Multishield level; advisers should clarify the share capital layers.

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Most recent filed accounts: FY2024, made up to 31 December 2024. That is roughly 19 months old relative to today (August 2026), so the filed EBITDA is stale. Using the disclosed 18% revenue growth for FY2024 and our assumption of 8–20% growth, I roll forward to FY2025 revenue of £45m, gross margin of 25.5%, and EBITDA of £3.6m at an 8% margin (reflecting the compression seen in FY2024).

Sector multiples: UK mid-market fire safety distribution businesses typically trade at 5x–7x EBITDA, with higher multiples for manufacturing content, own-brand IP and recurring revenue. A relevant precedent is the Marlowe Fire & Security platform, which completed multiple acquisitions between 2018 and 2023 at 5x–6x EBITDA for regional servicing firms (source: Marlowe plc investor presentations, various). Checkfire's manufacturing element and strong brand portfolio justify a multiple toward the upper end of that range.

Operating-scale adjustments: On our assumption of 8–20% industry and business growth, moderate revenue quality (project-weighted but repeat trade customers), a compressed EBITDA margin of 5–10%, and moderate capex intensity, the multiple range sits at 5.0x–6.5x. The lower end reflects margin risk; the upper end reflects scale, brand strength and lithium-ion product innovation.

Indicative enterprise value: £3.6m × 5.0x = £18m; £3.6m × 6.5x = £23.4m. Rounded range: £18m to £24m.

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These bars are calibrated for UK SMEs and do not apply to midcap or larger businesses, where the thresholds are very different.

The metric that most limits the multiple today is the EBITDA margin, which compressed sharply in FY2024 and sits well below the "good" threshold for this sector.

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The single highest-return action is quantifying and stripping out exceptional costs from FY2024, because it directly lifts the EBITDA base on which the entire valuation rests.

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Top route: A trade sale to a strategic acquirer, whether a UK competitor seeking brand and distribution, or an international fire equipment group looking for UK market access, is the strongest fit. At this scale, competition among buyers should be achievable, supporting price. For the owners, this route likely means a full exit within 12 months post-completion and absorption of the brand into the acquirer's portfolio, so it suits shareholders seeking clean liquidity rather than ongoing involvement.

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At your size expect a structured, competitive auction run by a larger corporate finance house, with full workstream due diligence and international buyers likely on the list. Allow around nine to fifteen months from starting properly to money in the bank.

At this size, process discipline is the value driver. A well run timetable with several credible bidders reaching binding offers on the same day is what produces a premium.