Sell your staffing agency to the buyer who values it most.

Why owners are selling now.

Buyers are queuing. Private equity funds are building groups of agencies and trade buyers are adding regions and specialisms. Our Flex M&A Radar logs every Dutch deal with a source, and the quarterly Flex M&A Barometer shows who buys with whose money (both in Dutch). More buyers means competition, and competition moves the price.

The Wtta raises the bar. From 1 January 2027 supplying workers requires an admission with a €100,000 deposit, enforced from 2028. Buyers pay for agencies that have this in order. Our Wtta check (in Dutch) gives you an action list in a few questions.

You choose the moment. Owners who sell because they must, negotiate badly. Start preparing at least a year before your intended sale date.

What your staffing agency is worth.

A buyer multiplies your normalised EBITDA by a multiple. For Dutch temp agencies that multiple usually lies between 3x and 7x, depending on size: up to €0.5 million EBITDA 3x to 5x, €0.5 to 2 million 4x to 6x, above that 5x to 7x. Specialists with growth sit at the top of their class. At €500,000 of normalised EBITDA and 5x, the enterprise value is €2.5 million. What reaches your account then depends on cash, debt and working capital: the equity bridge, where unprepared sellers lose surprising amounts.

Normalisation is where the money is: your own salary, one-off costs, private items in the company. At 5x, €40,000 of justified add-backs is worth €200,000. The full method is on our business valuation page. Indicative multiples per buyer type, for agencies from about €1 million EBITDA:

What a buyer checks in a Dutch staffing agency.

A general broker looks at revenue and profit. A buyer of a staffing agency looks much further. These points decide whether a deal speeds up or stalls:

• Certification and admission. NEN 4400-1, SNA registration and soon the Wtta admission. Any gap in the history gets priced in.
• CAO and equivalent pay. Correct use of the ABU or NBBU CAO, and equivalent pay (gelijkwaardige beloning) since 2026. Buyers also look back at the inlenersbeloning years before that.
• Payroll tax, StiPP and the G-account. The liability buyers fear most.
• Clients and contracts. A few large clients without framework agreements pull the multiple down.
• Margin per hour and phase mix across phases A, B and C, and the trend.
• Owner dependence. If every key client runs through you, expect a lower price, a longer earn-out, or both.

We check this before a buyer does. According to Exit in Flex, preparing for sale adds 20 to 30% on average.

Selling your staffing agency in seven phases.

On average 6 to 9 months, costing you 50 to 80 hours in total.

1. Business case (weeks 1 to 2): initial valuation, and which buyer would pay most and why.
2. Preparation (weeks 2 to 6): normalised figures, anonymous teaser, information memorandum.
3. Approaching buyers (weeks 6 to 10): more detail only after a signed NDA.
4. Buyer meetings (weeks 10 to 16): we prepare each one and sit beside you.
5. Offers and letter of intent (weeks 16 to 20): compared on price, structure and terms.
6. Due diligence (weeks 20 to 28): in a data room on our own platform.
7. Purchase agreement and closing (weeks 28 to 36): the notary transfers the shares, you are paid.

How you get paid.

How and when you receive the price decides what it is really worth. Four forms, often combined: all cash at closing (most certainty, not always the highest price); a vendor loan of usually 10 to 20%; an earn-out on gross margin or EBITDA, which only works with measurable targets you can influence; and with private equity a rollover, keeping a stake in the new group. Selling part of your shares is also possible. Most sellers stay involved for 6 to 12 months after closing.

Nobody knows until you tell them.

Buyers first see an anonymous teaser, and more only after a signed NDA and your consent. We approach buyers who registered a search profile with us (sector, EBITDA range, region, timeline), not a mailing list. Your team and clients hear it from you.

Who sits at the table, and what it costs.

No juniors: every engagement is led by a partner.

• Robbert Jan de Rooij, former partner in a staffing agency, sold the freelance platform ZZP365 himself. +31 40 798 8781
• Stef Kanen, chartered accountant from the M&A practice of EY, guided an exit of €100 million. +31 40 798 8782
• Ron van Oeveren, 27 years in M&A, many transactions in HR services. +31 40 798 8783

The first meeting and the value check are free. The fee is agreed in writing beforehand and is mostly success-based, so we earn more when you get a better price. We act for you alone: one side per transaction, never both. We know the buyers in staffing and what they look for in due diligence, so we know where your price can be defended.

Selling an IT staffing firm? Read selling your IT secondment agency. Looking to buy instead? See acquiring a staffing company in the Netherlands.