Pet Grooming, Boarding and Daycare Valuation
29 valuation methods · 43 industries · Results in under 10 minutes
In short
A pet services business is valued on its earnings: a discounted cash flow, comparable companies and precedent transactions, with precedent transactions carrying the most weight for a smaller one. Repeat clients, capacity, the site and staff who stay shape what buyers pay.
Who this is for
Owners of pet grooming salons, dog daycares, boarding kennels and pet training businesses preparing to sell, bring in a partner or plan succession, and buyers who need repeat clients, capacity and the site read with the earnings. Veterinary practices have their own guide.
How is a pet services business valued?
VA values a pet services business on its earnings: a discounted cash flow, comparable companies and precedent transactions. For a smaller business, precedent transactions carry the most weight. Earnings are taken after the add-backs you confirm, such as resetting the owner's pay to a manager's salary, and an asset floor keeps the result above what the company's own assets would recover. This tool is informational only. Output is driven by your inputs and does not constitute a formal appraisal or certified valuation.
What drives the value of a pet services business?
- Clients who come back on a schedule, often every few weeks
- Packages and memberships paid in advance
- Kennel and daycare capacity, and how full it runs
- Groomers and handlers who stay
- A site approved and licensed for animals, on a long lease or owned
- Online booking and reviews that bring new clients without the owner
What lowers the value of a pet services business?
- Clients tied to one groomer or trainer
- A site that cannot easily be replaced if the lease ends
- Kennels or daycare running well below capacity
- An owner who handles most bookings and clients
How much is a pet services business worth? A worked example
A pet services business, by discounted cash flow
Take a dog daycare and grooming business with $2.5 M of revenue and an 18% EBITDA margin, or $450 K of EBITDA. Assume revenue grows 7% a year for five years, capital spending and depreciation each run at 3% of revenue, working capital takes 2% of each year's added revenue and tax is 25%. Cash flows are discounted at 18%, the lowest rate VA uses for a company this size, with 2.5% growth after year five. VA's discounted cash flow gives about $2.17 M before debt, or 4.8× EBITDA. With revenue growing 3% a year instead, as when a competitor opens nearby, it comes to about $1.89 M. In a full report for a company this size, precedent transactions carry the most weight.
Illustrative figures from VA's discounted cash flow alone, on the assumptions stated. A full report blends it with the industry's other methods, such as comparable companies and precedent transactions.
Value your pet services business in under 10 minutes
- 1.Upload your financial statements, or type the figures in.
- 2.Confirm the add-backs and the industry details the model asks for.
- 3.Get a valuation range, the methods behind it and a PDF memorandum.
Which numbers matter most?
Normalized EBITDA
EBITDA after the add-backs you confirm. Comparable companies and precedent transactions apply their multiples to it, and the discounted cash flow starts from it.
Repeat client share
The share of revenue from clients who book again. Grooming and daycare run on routine visits, so buyers read it as the best sign the revenue will hold.
Occupancy
How full the kennels or daycare run through the year. It shows the room left to grow without a new site.
Revenue per groomer
What each groomer brings in. Buyers read it with staff turnover, since clients often follow a groomer they like.
Rent to revenue
Occupancy cost as a share of sales. Sites approved for animals are hard to replace, so buyers check the lease closely.
What do you need to value a pet services business?
- Profit and loss statements and balance sheets, ideally for the last three years
- Figures for the current year to date
- A list of add-backs: the owner's pay and perks, and any one-off costs
- Loan and lease balances
- Revenue by service: grooming, boarding, daycare and training
- Client visits and rebooking rates
- The lease, zoning approvals and animal care licenses
Example scenarios
A competitor opens nearby
A new daycare opens nearby and growth slows. The worked example shows what slower growth does to the discounted cash flow.
Clients who follow a groomer
One groomer serves a large share of the regular clients. The earnings count, but a buyer checks whether those clients would stay if that groomer left.
Further reading
Business Valuation Methods Explained: DCF vs. Comps vs. Precedent Transactions
The five business valuation methods professionals actually use (DCF, comparable companies, precedent transactions, SDE/EBITDA multiples, and asset-based), when each wins, and how they combine into one defensible number.
WACC Explained: Why Your Discount Rate Can Make or Break a Valuation
WACC is one of the most misunderstood terms in business valuation. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how it directly affects what your business is worth.
DCF Analysis Explained for Private Companies
A clear, practical guide to discounted cash flow analysis for private companies. Learn the five key steps, how to estimate WACC without public market data, terminal value approaches, and common pitfalls to avoid.
Frequently asked questions
How is a pet services business valued?
On its earnings: a discounted cash flow, comparable companies and precedent transactions, after the add-backs you confirm. For a smaller business, precedent transactions carry the most weight.
Is a veterinary clinic valued the same way?
No. A veterinary practice is valued as a professional practice and has its own guide. Grooming, boarding, daycare and training are valued as consumer services.
Do packages and memberships add to the value?
The model values the earnings you enter. Buyers still like prepaid packages and memberships, since they bring clients back on a schedule; services still owed on them are usually settled at closing.
How much does the site matter?
A great deal. Sites approved and licensed for animals are hard to find, so buyers check the zoning, the licenses and whether the lease can pass to them.
What if I pay myself less than a manager would cost?
Then your earnings overstate what a buyer who hires a manager would keep, and a buyer will deduct the difference. Set your pay at a manager's salary when you review the adjustments, so the result reflects what a buyer would pay.
Is this a certified appraisal?
No. This is an informational estimate. A bank loan, a partner buyout or an estate matter may require a certified business appraisal, which this does not replace.
Terms used on this page
- Normalized EBITDA
- EBITDA after add-backs, so it shows what the business earns in a normal year under a new owner.
- Add-backs
- Costs added back to reported earnings because a new owner would not bear them: personal expenses run through the business, one-off costs, or owner pay above what the role would cost to fill.
- Discounted cash flow (DCF)
- A valuation that projects the cash a business will generate over the coming years and discounts it to today at a rate that reflects the risk of receiving it.
- Discount rate
- The yearly return a buyer requires for the risk of owning the business. A higher rate lowers what future cash is worth today.
- Comparable companies
- A method that values a business at the multiples of earnings or revenue at which similar companies are valued.
- Precedent transactions
- A method that values a business at the multiples paid in past sales of similar companies.
As featured in
Value your pet services business
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Last reviewed September 26, 2026 against VA's valuation models.