Squarebird — Acquisition by The Smarter Web Company
Bristol-based web design and digital marketing agency acquired by The Smarter Web Company, illustrating how smaller owner-managed agencies with strong profitability and recurring revenue can still trade toward the lower end of the sector range when normalised for incremental management costs.
Acquirer
The Smarter Web Company
Year
2026
Enterprise Value
£1.35m (effective consideration)
Revenue
£1.40m (FY2025)
Adjusted EBITDA
£0.44m (Normalised)
EBITDA Multiple
3.0×
Industry
Digital Marketing Agency
Transaction
In February 2026, The Smarter Web Company acquired Squarebird, a Bristol-based web design and digital marketing agency founded in 2015. Squarebird generated approximately £1.40m of revenue and £542k of EBITDA in the 12 months ended 30 April 2025. The acquisition had an effective consideration of approximately £1.35m after adjusting for £340k funded from Squarebird's existing cash reserves, equivalent to approximately 2.5× reported historical EBITDA. The buyer also assessed the acquisition using approximately £440k of normalised EBITDA after allowing for £100k of incremental management costs. On this basis, the acquisition multiple was approximately 3.0× EBITDA, within The Smarter Web Company's stated target acquisition range of 3×–4× EBITDA. Squarebird employed more than 20 full-time staff and provided web design and digital marketing services, with approximately 40% of revenue recurring over the preceding five years.
Why the Premium?
- Approximately 40% recurring revenue
- Established and consistently profitable agency
- More than 20 full-time employees
- Founders committed to remain with the business for at least three years
- Complementary digital marketing and technical capabilities
- Potential commercial and operational synergies with the acquirer
SME Takeaway
Squarebird provides a useful example of a smaller digital marketing agency transaction at the lower end of the SME valuation range. The effective consideration represented approximately 2.5× reported historical EBITDA, increasing to approximately 3.0× after allowing for incremental management costs. The transaction demonstrates the importance of normalising EBITDA when valuing owner-managed agencies. Even with strong profitability and approximately 40% recurring revenue, the normalised valuation remained around 3× EBITDA, illustrating how smaller agencies with continued founder involvement can trade toward the lower end of the sector range. The 3.0× headline EBITDA multiple reflects the buyer's normalised EBITDA assessment and provides a more comparable valuation benchmark.
Sources
Disclaimer: Case study figures are based on publicly available information and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Transaction values, EBITDA figures and implied multiples may reflect different reporting periods, definitions and deal structures, and some multiples are calculated from disclosed figures rather than reported by the parties. They are not formal valuations, investment advice or a substitute for independent professional advice.