Behind most lifting and pressure equipment inspection firms is an owner who spent years building a register of clients, a team of competent examiners and the accreditations the work requires. That register of recurring statutory examinations is what a buyer pays for, and an owner who knows its value goes into a sale, a management buyout or a private equity approach with a stronger hand. The figures below show what businesses like yours have sold for, the factors that move value and the buyers active in the segment.
Nearly nine in ten of the lifting and pressure equipment inspection companies in our database are independent and privately owned, and private equity-backed platforms and TIC groups have been buying them.
This article sets the public record against inspection company valuations as a whole and the wider TIC sector.
In short, the segment has two deals with an EBITDA multiple and four with a revenue multiple, below the five a segment median needs. The better references are the inspection medians of 9.5x EBITDA (25 deals) and 1.6x revenue (63 deals), against 9.9x and 1.8x for all TIC deals. The 25 inspection deals with an EBITDA multiple have a median deal size of about $120M, so if your firm is smaller than that, plan for a multiple below the inspection medians.
Lifting and Pressure Equipment Inspection Deal Multiples Compared With the Wider TIC Market
Of the 82 lifting and pressure equipment inspection deals in our database since 2015, 5 disclose a deal value. Adding company filings and announcements, we could calculate an EV/EBITDA multiple for 2 transactions and an EV/Revenue multiple for 4, below the five a median needs.
| Lifting and pressure equipment inspection | All inspection | All TIC (Aventis database) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median EV/EBITDA | n/a (2 deals) | 9.5x (25 deals) | 9.9x (54 deals) |
| Median EV/Revenue | n/a (4 deals) | 1.6x (63 deals) | 1.8x (142 deals) |
| Median deal size | $4.7M (5 deals) | $15.0M (127 deals) | $13.4M (282 deals) |
Source: Aventis Advisors TIC deal database (Mergermarket, acquirer announcements and own research), January 2015 to October 2026. All inspection covers every inspection segment, including lifting and pressure equipment inspection and field services at the customer’s site. All TIC: the inspection, testing laboratory and certification deals on our pages combined, 2,840 since 2015, with medians of 9.9x EBITDA (54 deals), 1.8x revenue (142 deals) and $13.4M deal size (282 deals). Median deal size uses EV where disclosed, otherwise the disclosed deal value. Medians shown where at least 5 deals disclose the figure; ranges only where at least 10 do.
The median deal size, about $4.7M (5 deals), is well below the $15.0M for inspection as a whole and the $13.4M for TIC overall, so for most firms in this segment the inspection medians are an upper reference. How far your own firm sits from them comes down to the approvals it holds, how much of its revenue is scheduled periodic examination and how many qualified inspectors it keeps.
What Drives a Lifting and Pressure Equipment Inspection Valuation
Each factor below is something a buyer tests in due diligence, and each moves a lifting and pressure equipment inspection business up or down the valuation range. Most of them improve slowly, so start on them well ahead of a sale.
Accreditation and legal authorization. In many countries only an accredited or approved body may carry out these inspections. That can mean ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation as an inspection body, thorough examination by a competent person under LOLER 1998 and PSSR 2000 in the UK, approval as a ZÜS (zugelassene Überwachungsstelle) for lifts and pressure equipment in Germany, authorization for periodic verifications of lifting and pressure equipment in Italy, or OCA status in Spain. In the US, inspectors work under state and city licensing, with elevator inspectors usually certified as QEIs and boiler inspectors commissioned through the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Buyers check which authorizations the company holds, which ones depend on named individuals, and what happens to them on a change of ownership. Keep a list of every accreditation and approval with its holder, its expiry date and whether it transfers to a new owner.
Recurring, legally scheduled work. The core revenue of a lifting and pressure equipment inspection firm repeats because the law sets the inspection interval. Buyers look at how many assets are under contract, how long customers have stayed, and how much of the revenue comes from scheduled periodic examinations against one-off work such as acceptance tests on new installations. A register of the assets under contract, each with its next due date, answers most of these questions in one document.
Inspectors. The business depends on qualified engineer surveyors and inspectors, and they are hard to hire. Buyers look at headcount, age profile, the number holding each authorization, staff turnover and how much the owner still signs off personally. A firm where one or two people hold the key approvals carries key-person risk, and that risk is priced in. Prepare a staff list showing each inspector’s authorizations and length of service.
Independence from maintenance and repair. Third-party inspection is valued for its independence from the companies that install, maintain and hire out the equipment. A firm that mixes inspection with repair, lifting gear sales or rental is valued partly as a contractor, so show the split of revenue clearly.
Customer channels. In the UK much lifting and pressure equipment inspection has traditionally been bought alongside engineering insurance, and insurers, brokers, facilities management firms and large property owners place volumes of work. Long-standing framework agreements support the value; heavy dependence on one channel partner reduces it.
Systems and reporting. Customers need defect reports on time and an up-to-date register of their equipment. Scheduling and reporting systems that customers log in to, and that tie each asset to its next due date, make revenue easier to keep and easier for a buyer to integrate.
Size and density. Inspection is a route business. A firm with a dense customer base in one region, or licenses in several US states, is worth more to a platform than one spread thinly. Smaller firms are usually bought as add-ons, at lower multiples, because the buyer takes on integration work and customer concentration.
Who Is Buying Lifting and Pressure Equipment Inspection Companies
We count 82 acquisitions of lifting and pressure equipment inspection companies between January 2015 and October 2026, by 30 different buyers. Private equity firms and their platforms made 66% of them. Their share has risen to 79% of the 61 deals since 2021, against 6 of the 21 deals in 2015 to 2020. The targets were in 17 countries: 41 in North America, 20 in continental Europe (ten countries), 16 in the UK and Ireland, 4 in Asia-Pacific and 1 in Latin America.
The two most active buyers, VDA and ATIS, are private equity-backed elevator inspection and consulting platforms in the US, and together account for 32 of the 82 deals. Phenna Group and TÜV Austria buy across the TIC market, and lifting and pressure equipment inspection is a small part of their acquisitions. The table shows each buyer’s lifting and pressure equipment inspection deals and its other TIC acquisitions since 2015, which add up to its total.
| Buyer | Headquarters | Ownership | Lifting and pressure equipment inspection deals | Other TIC deals | Total TIC deals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VDA (Van Deusen & Associates) | US | PE-backed (Warren Equity Partners since 2026) | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| ATIS | US | PE-backed (Thompson Street Capital since 2024) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Phenna Group | UK | PE-backed (Oakley Capital since 2022) | 6 | 96 | 102 |
| Industrial Inspection & Analysis | US | PE-backed (SRM Equity since 2015) | 5 | 11 | 16 |
| TÜV Austria | Austria | Strategic | 4 | 39 | 43 |
Source: Aventis Advisors TIC deal database (Mergermarket, acquirer announcements and own research), January 2015 to October 2026. Other TIC deals are the buyer’s acquisitions in any other testing, inspection or certification business. The two columns add up to the total. Deals are counted at the level of the ultimate buyer group at the time of the deal; ATIS includes deals made through its subsidiaries.
For an owner, the table points to two kinds of buyer: the US elevator inspection platforms, whose TIC acquisitions in our database are all in this segment, and groups such as Phenna Group and TÜV Austria, for which a lifting and pressure equipment inspection firm is one of many inspection or TIC acquisitions. Ownership is a second split. A private equity-backed buyer and a strategic buyer weigh a business differently and plan a different role for the owner after completion; see strategic vs financial buyers.
If a Buyer Has Approached You
An approach from an elevator inspection platform or a TIC group is the point to establish what your business is worth, before the conversation turns to a number. Four steps strengthen your hand.
Know the range before the first offer. The reference points are thin: the segment has four multiples at most, and the inspection medians come mostly from much larger businesses. Set your own size against them before you react to any figure, because a firm well below that size should expect a lower multiple.
Speak to more than one buyer. Since 2015, 30 different buyers have acquired lifting and pressure equipment inspection companies, and private equity-backed buyers made 79% of the 61 deals since 2021. A platform that buys only elevator inspection firms and a group buying across TIC will put different values on the same approvals and customer contracts, and setting their offers side by side is the clearest way to judge either one.
Negotiate the terms as hard as the price. The cash paid at completion, any deferred or earn-out payment and what it is measured on, and the role the buyer expects you to play after the sale all change what you receive. Where approvals sit with named individuals, the buyer will want those inspectors, and often you, to stay on, so agree the terms of that before the price is settled.
Prepare what the buyer will ask for. Expect early requests for your accreditations and approvals with their holders and change-of-control terms, the register of assets under contract with next due dates, inspector headcount by authorization, revenue by channel including work placed by insurers and brokers, and the renewal dates of your framework agreements.
Methodology
The figures cover majority acquisitions of companies whose main business is the periodic inspection of lifts, escalators, cranes and lifting equipment, forklifts, pressure systems, boilers, gas installations and other work equipment, worldwide, from January 2015 to October 2026. Elevator consultancies that also carry out inspections are included. Equipment makers, lifting gear hire and sales businesses, installation and maintenance contractors and training providers are excluded.
The deals come from the Aventis Advisors TIC deal database, which combines Mergermarket with acquirer announcements and our own research. EV/EBITDA and EV/Revenue use enterprise value (EV), which is equity value plus net debt; EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Median deal size uses EV where disclosed, otherwise the disclosed deal value, which is the consideration for the stake acquired; stakes of 51% to 99% count only where an EV is stated. Distressed sales are excluded from the multiples. Most private deals close at undisclosed values, so the deals with a published figure are a small sample. Medians are shown where at least five deals disclose the figure, and ranges where at least ten do. EV/EBITDA is shown where the multiple or the EBITDA was published by the buyer, the seller, filings or a reputable data source; EBITDA derived from a stated margin is excluded.
Talk to Us
If you own a lifting and pressure equipment inspection business and a platform or TIC group has made contact, speak to us before you accept an offer or sign heads of terms. We can tell you how a buyer is likely to value your approvals, inspector team, contracted asset base and channel relationships, which other buyers have been active in the segment, and whether selling makes more sense now or later. Aventis Advisors is a boutique M&A firm advising on transactions with typical enterprise values between EUR 5M and EUR 100M, including testing, inspection and certification businesses. The first call is informal. Contact us at contact@aventis-advisors.com or see our M&A advisory for TIC companies.
