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Selling a Hair or Beauty Salon in Australia

Hair and beauty businesses sell for 1.5× to 2.5× EBITDA, most often between $50,000 and $300,000, and take around 60 to 120 days. More than in almost any other sector, what a buyer is really assessing is whether the clients belong to the salon or to the people who work in it.

If you own a hair salon, beauty clinic or day spa, this page covers what yours is likely worth, why staff and client retention decide the number, and what buyers examine.

Typical multiple
1.5× - 2.5×
Typical sale price
$50k–$300k
Time to sell
60–120 days
Buyer demand
Moderate

What hair and beauty businesses sell for

The headline range is 1.5× - 2.5× EBITDA, but where you land inside it depends heavily on the size of the business. Larger businesses attract higher multiples, because buyers see less risk and more management depth.

Annual EBITDATypical multiple
Under $100k0.8× – 1.8×
$100k – $250k1.2× – 2.4×
$250k – $500k1.6× – 3×
$500k – $1M2.2× – 4×
$1M – $2.5M3× – 5×
$2.5M – $5M3.8× – 6.5×
$5M – $10M5× – 8×
$10M+6× – 10×

The uncomfortable question in every salon sale is how much of the revenue is yours personally. If you hold the busiest column and your clients book with you by name, a large part of what you are selling walks out the door when you do. Salons where the owner has stepped back from the floor sell for meaningfully more at the same profit.

How long it takes to sell

Sixty to one hundred and twenty days. The pace is set by two things: landlord consent to assign the lease, and confidential conversations with key staff. The second is the delicate one, because telling stylists too early risks them leaving and telling them too late risks the buyer walking. That sequencing is usually managed through the broker rather than directly.

The five things buyers pay for

Client database quality

A client database is only worth something if it is current, held in a booking system and genuinely active. Buyers look at how many clients have visited in the last twelve months rather than the total record count, and at your rebooking rate, because a client who books their next appointment before leaving is a far better indicator of future revenue than one who has simply been in once.

Rent as % of revenue

Rent as a share of revenue is scrutinised the same way it is in hospitality. Salons carry fixed costs against income that varies week to week, so a high rent leaves no room to absorb a quiet period. Buyers calculate this early and it can end the conversation on its own.

Stylist / therapist retention

Stylists and therapists carry clients with them, which makes retention the central question in the deal. Buyers want to know who is staying, how they are engaged and what agreements exist. Restraints on junior staff are rarely worth much in practice, so what matters more is whether the team is settled and whether clients book by service or by individual.

Social media following

A strong social presence helps, but the important question is who owns it. Where the following sits on a business account with content about the salon, it transfers. Where it is your personal handle built around you as a stylist, it does not, and buyers discount accordingly.

Equipment & fit-out condition

Fit-out age and equipment condition set the buyer expectation of near term capital expenditure. A salon needing a refresh within a year is priced with that cost deducted, and the same applies to ageing treatment equipment that will need replacing or servicing.

Lease, staff and the client database

The client database is your principal asset and it is also personal information, which means it cannot simply be handed across. Transfer needs to be handled consistently with your privacy obligations and clients are generally notified of the change of ownership. A database held in a booking system transfers cleanly; one that lives in an appointment book or in a stylist personal phone effectively does not transfer at all.

Staff arrangements need to be clear before the business is marketed. Where stylists rent chairs or rooms they are contractors with their own client relationships and can leave without notice, which changes what the buyer is acquiring. Where they are employees, accrued entitlements are adjusted at settlement. Buyers routinely make key staff staying a condition of the deal.

The lease is assigned with landlord consent in the same way as retail or hospitality, and the same considerations apply: remaining term, options to renew, and any make-good obligation at the end. Salon fit-outs are expensive to remove, so make-good in this sector is worth quantifying rather than assuming.

What buyers will ask for

  • Active clients and rebooking rate. How many clients have visited in the last twelve months, and what proportion rebook before they leave.
  • Your own column as a share of revenue. How much of the takings you personally generate, and what is expected to happen to it after settlement.
  • Staff engagement model and retention. Employees or chair renters, what agreements are in place, and who has indicated they are staying.
  • Rent as a percentage of revenue. Calculated from your figures, alongside remaining lease term and any make-good obligation.
  • Retail product sales and stock. What share of revenue comes from product, your margin on it, and what stock is sitting unsold.

Common questions

What if I am the main stylist?
It lowers the price, because a share of the revenue is tied to you personally. The usual answers are a longer handover, part of the price deferred against retained clients, or reducing your own column before going to market so the business can show it holds up without you.
Do my clients transfer with the sale?
The database transfers, subject to privacy obligations, but clients choose for themselves. Retention is strongest where the team stays and the change is communicated well, which is why staff retention and client retention are really the same question here.
Are chair renters a problem when selling?
They complicate it. Chair renters are contractors with their own client relationships and can leave at short notice, so a buyer treats that revenue as less secure than the same amount generated by employed staff.
Is my Instagram following worth anything?
Only if it transfers. A business account with a following built around the salon carries value. A personal account built around you as an individual stylist does not, because it leaves with you.
Find out what your business is worthFree valuation tool. Five questions, indicative range.Talk to a broker confidentiallyA 30-minute strategy call. No obligation.

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Last updated September 2026