2.3× The typical catering company for sale in the US asks 2.3 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 141 catering companies listed for sale on a major online marketplace and compared each asking price with the cash flow its seller reported.
The findings in eight sentences.
- The middle half of catering companies ask between 1.8 and 2.9 times their yearly cash flow.
- Catering companies ask less than the typical business for sale, which asks 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for a catering company is $350,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical catering company asks 0.6 times its yearly sales.
- 35% of catering companies for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
- 48% of owners who say why they're selling are retiring.
- 13% of catering companies for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 18% of the catering companies for sale are listed in California, 11% in New York and 10% in Florida.
Of the food and drink industries, catering companies ask less than most.
Quick service restaurants ask the most, 2.7 times their yearly cash flow, and Korean restaurants the least, 1.7 times.
- Quick service restaurants: median 2.7×, middle half from 2.1× to 3.4×
- Bars, pubs and nightclubs: median 2.6×, middle half from 2.1× to 3.4×
- Cafes, bakeries and delis: median 2.5×, middle half from 1.9× to 3.3×
- Restaurants: median 2.3×, middle half from 1.7× to 3.0×
- Catering companies: median 2.3×, middle half from 1.8× to 2.9×
- Mediterranean restaurants: median 2.1×, middle half from 1.6× to 2.7×
- Korean restaurants: median 1.7×, middle half from 1.4× to 2.2×
fulkersonadvisors.com
54% of catering companies ask between two and four times their yearly cash flow.
32% ask less than two, and 14% more than four.
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What a catering company like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$304,000 to $503,000
The typical one asks $393,000, 2.3× its yearly cash flow.
Based on catering companies of every size. Too few this size are listed. These are asking prices, not sale prices or appraisals.
After the close.
We write the software a newly bought business runs on, one process at a time, such as quoting, scheduling or billing, and the new owner keeps the code. How we work with buyers and operating partners.
The data.
We read the listings on September 24, 2026, and their full details from September 25 to 30, 2026.
Questions
What multiple of cash flow do catering companies sell for?
Catering companies listed for sale in the US ask a median 2.3 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 1.8 and 2.9 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy a catering company?
The typical catering company for sale asks $350,000, and the middle half ask between $158,000 and $756,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many catering companies for sale offer seller financing?
35% of catering companies for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
What multiple of revenue do catering companies ask?
The typical catering company for sale asks 0.6 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 0.4 and 1.0 times.
Why are catering companies for sale?
48% of owners who give a reason are retiring. 25% are moving on to other businesses or interests, and 8% are relocating.
How we did it
We read every listing on a major US online marketplace for businesses for sale on September 24, 2026, and went back to each one from September 25 to 30, 2026 for its full details. This page covers the 141 established catering companies among them. 87 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 80 of those are left after the exclusions below.
Older listings use a flat list of named categories, and newer ones a two-level list whose subcategories have no names. A listing without its own photo shows its category's default photo. Each default photo almost always shows up in a single newer subcategory, so each named category joins the subcategory where its photo appears.
A multiple is the asking price divided by the seller's discretionary earnings the listing reports. We left out multiples below 0.3 or above 20, and listings whose price includes the property. Prices and cash flows on this page come from the listings with a multiple. These are asking prices, and a business usually sells for less than it asks. The full method.
Cite this page
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What catering companies for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/catering-companies
Use any of these numbers or charts. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.