Plant Nursery
This page summarizes the published SME benchmark for this business type, including its disclosed market basis, so advisors and operators can cite a clear starting point before a full company-specific valuation.
Business type benchmark
Last published: 15 Apr 2026fresh · 49 days old≈ 6 min readEndpoint
Model-ready data package
Pull this sector's multiples together with country market data in one response. Use JSON for agents and apps, or CSV for Excel models and deal workpapers.
/api/benchmarks/v1/context?business_type_id=nursery&locale=enClassification
01.19
NACE Rev. 2 primary code. National statistical labels (e.g. SBI, NACE-BEL) describe how each country maps this activity.
Markets
Benelux aggregate
Published benchmark
15 Apr 2026
Published benchmark ranges
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Sign up freeHow To Use This Benchmark
Use these ranges as a market reference, not as a substitute for a full valuation. Company quality, growth, concentration, recurring revenue, margin profile, and deal context still matter.
Pair This With The Right Valuation Method
These benchmark pages work best when they feed into a fuller valuation workflow on Upswitch. Start with the market range, then choose the method that fits the company.
Upswitch Index vs Damodaran
Both are useful — they answer different questions. Pick the right reference for the work.
Upswitch Index
Private-market, SME, by business type
- Benelux-native where the row proves local evidence
- By business type, disclosed market basis, citable vintages
- Free to use — no credit card
Damodaran
Listed equities, global, by sector
- Public-market companies, annual global cuts
- Broad sector buckets, not country-resolved
- Free academic resource
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
How plant nursery actually gets valued
The multiples above are a market anchor — not the valuation. What drives the outcome are sector-typical normalisations, value drivers and risk compressors.
Normalisation checklist
What reported EBITDA almost always distorts in this sector.
- Separate land and biological assets from operating EBITDA — they are valued on intrinsic, not multiple, basis.
- Smooth weather-driven yield variance over a rolling three-year average.
- Strip subsidy income (CAP, agro-environmental schemes) from the recurring operating line where the entitlement transfers with the deal but the rate is policy-dependent.
- Revalue breeding livestock and standing crops at fair market value, not historic cost.
- Adjust owner-operator labour to a hired-manager-plus-helper baseline.
Value drivers
What typically lifts the multiple in this sector.
- Long-term offtake contracts with food processors or retailers.
- Quota, water rights or PDO/PGI labels that transfer with the entity.
- Diversified crop mix or vertical integration into processing.
Value killers
What compresses the multiple or kills the deal.
- Single-buyer dependency on one cooperative or processor.
- Heavy debt secured against land where free cash flow does not service it without subsidies.
- Succession risk concentrated in the operator-owner with no farm manager in place.
Anonymised worked example
Illustrative — not a recommendation. Real valuations run through the Upswitch engine.
An arable farm reports €1.8M revenue and €310k reported EBITDA, of which €95k is direct CAP income. Normalising the operator's labour to a hired manager (€72k vs €30k drawn) and treating CAP as a policy-dependent line valued separately at 4× rather than the operating multiple, normalised core EBITDA falls to €213k. A sector range of 4.0×–5.5× yields €0.85M–€1.17M for the operating business, with land valued separately at €2.6M (intrinsic) — a structurally different total than a naive 5× on reported EBITDA would suggest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these published numbers company-specific?
No. They are published market reference points for this business type in the country markets that Upswitch has evidence for. A real valuation still needs company-specific inputs and judgment.
Why do some business types show more than one metric?
Different sectors are often discussed with different market lenses. Upswitch shows the published metrics that are available for this business type.
Can I use this in a client conversation?
Yes. These pages are designed as citation-friendly starting points. For a client-ready report, use the full valuation workflow on Upswitch.
Is this database free to use?
Yes. The Upswitch Index publishes free SME valuation multiples (EV/EBITDA, EV/Revenue, and P/E) by business type. Benelux can be native-local where row evidence supports it; wider European market views are disclosed as beta, borrowed, aggregate, or compatibility coverage. Historical vintages and audit exports are on paid plans.
How does Upswitch Index compare to Damodaran?
Damodaran publishes annual global multiples for listed companies by broad sector — a gold standard for public markets. Upswitch Index publishes granular SME/private-company benchmark ranges by business type with row-level disclosure of whether evidence is native-local, borrowed, aggregate, or beta-stage. Both are useful; they answer different questions.
What is the source methodology behind these multiples?
Upswitch publishes only through row-level benchmark contracts. Evidence can include private-market observations, local filings or statistics, listed-comparable context, and macro calibration anchors, but source labels are used only when they actually contributed to the resolved benchmark. Full methodology is on the methodology page.
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Deeper reading
How valuation, normalisation and succession actually work
Three long-form articles on the infrastructure layer beneath European SME succession — selected for this sector.
The five primitives of liquidity
Five building blocks for a working SME succession market: normalisation, transparency, advisor distribution, shared truth and matching.
Read on upswitch.app →
Normalising SME EBITDA — six categories
Two accountants, one P&L, EBITDAs 20% apart. The six categories where most divergence happens — with worked examples.
Read on upswitch.app →
The accountant as SME M&A distribution layer
80% of Benelux SME owners ask their accountant first what their company is worth. Why infrastructure has to start there, not at the owner.
Read on upswitch.app →
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