Question 1

How much does a catering company cost to buy in Canada?

Accepted Answer

Pricing depends on the specific business. Typical catering company sells at 2–3.5× SDE (smaller deals) or 3.5–6× EBITDA (larger). Revenue range for this category typically runs $300K–$10M.

Question 2

How much money do I need to buy a catering company?

Accepted Answer

Typical Canadian acquisition requires 10-30% equity. For a $2M catering company, that's $300K-$600K cash. SAZ structures the remaining 70-90% through bank debt, BDC, vendor takeback, and other financing.

Question 3

What should I diligence carefully when buying a catering company?

Accepted Answer

Focus areas: Contract renewals; Kitchen lease; Health compliance. SAZ leads the full diligence workstream and surfaces issues before they kill the deal or compress price.

Question 4

Who are the typical sellers of catering companies?

Accepted Answer

Retiring owner-operators (60%+), strategic divestitures (15-20%), distressed situations (10-15%), and tax/estate planning sales (5-10%). Different seller profiles require different deal structuring.

Question 5

What's a realistic timeline to buy a catering company?

Accepted Answer

From defined criteria to closing: 5–9 months. Search phase varies (2-12 months). Post-LOI to closing: 90-120 days typically.

Buy a catering company in Canada.

What makes a catering company valuable.

What to investigate carefully.

Who else buys catering companies.

Buy a catering company in these 30 Canadian markets.

Also relevant.

Sell a catering company

Catering Company valuation

All business types

Define your acquisition criteria with a senior partner.