Calculators
The LBO calculator suite: three tools, built the way leveraged lenders underwrite.
The numbers a leveraged deal turns on, the entry price, how much debt the cash flow can carry, the paydown over the hold and the equity that comes back at exit, are modelled here for free. Run your figures first, then talk to an adviser who can tell you which funders would support them.
Pick the calculation your deal turns on
Start with the LBO calculator if you are modelling a sponsor-style buyout, the acquisition loan calculator if you are buying a business with a bank loan and a deposit, or the leverage ratio calculator if you already have debt and want to know how much more the business could carry.
LBO calculator
Sources and uses for a leveraged buyout, year-by-year debt paydown, exit equity value and sponsor IRR.
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Business acquisition loan calculator
Monthly and annual repayments on an acquisition loan, total interest and debt service cover against the target's cash flow.
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Leverage ratio calculator
Net debt to EBITDA, interest cover and debt service cover from your numbers, against typical UK lender bands.
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Why these tools
What an LBO calculator has to model
A leveraged buyout is a cash flow model with a capital structure wrapped around it, and a simple loan calculator captures neither. The debt comes in layers that rank, amortise and price differently: senior debt repaid from cash flow each year, mezzanine that accrues interest to the balance, equity that is paid last. Returns come from three sources that have to be separated to be understood: debt paid down, EBITDA grown, and any change in the exit multiple. And the constraint throughout is cover: whether free cash flow after tax and capex meets interest and scheduled repayments with enough headroom to survive a bad year. Each calculator here builds those mechanics in, so the outputs match the conversation you will have with a credit committee or an investment committee.
The product detail behind the numbers lives on the acquisition finance hub, and the structure is unpacked in our guide to how a leveraged buyout is structured.
From numbers to funder
What happens after the calculation?
The calculators give you the market-standard answer; the funder gives you theirs. Leverage ceilings, covenant levels, amortisation profiles and pricing vary across 40+ banks, debt funds and asset based lenders, and the debt funds that provide unitranche never publish criteria. When your numbers look workable, a 15-minute fee-free call is enough for us to build the sources and uses properly and tell you which funders would take the case, and on what terms.
LBO calculator questions
How do you calculate a leveraged buyout?+
Start with EBITDA and an entry multiple to get enterprise value, decide how much senior and mezzanine debt the cash flow will carry, and the balance is the equity. Then project EBITDA, deduct tax, capex and interest, repay debt from what is left, and at the exit year apply an exit multiple, deduct the remaining debt and compare the equity you get back with the equity you put in. The LBO calculator does exactly that and reports the money multiple and IRR.
What IRR do private equity buyers target?+
Sponsors typically underwrite to a 20 to 25 percent gross IRR and a 2.5x to 3.0x money multiple over a three to five year hold, with returns coming from debt paydown, EBITDA growth and any expansion in the exit multiple. Sponsor-less management teams can accept lower returns because they are also buying their own jobs and control.
How much can I borrow to buy a business?+
Banks lend around 50 to 70 percent of the price on smaller acquisitions, sized so the target's free cash flow covers repayments by 1.25x to 1.5x. On larger deals the language shifts to multiples of EBITDA: 2.5x to 3.5x from banks, 4.0x to 5.5x from unitranche funds. The business acquisition loan calculator tests the cover on your numbers.
What is a good debt to EBITDA ratio?+
Below 2.5x is conservative bank territory; 2.5x to 3.5x is the upper end of bank appetite; 3.5x to 5.0x is sponsor and debt-fund territory; above 5.0x is highly leveraged. The leverage ratio calculator places your numbers in those bands and adds interest cover and debt service cover, which lenders test alongside leverage.
How accurate are these calculators?+
They use market-standard arithmetic and indicative bands as of September 2026: 25 percent corporation tax, a 5 percent maintenance capex allowance, straight-line senior amortisation with a cash sweep, PIK accrual on mezzanine and annuity repayments on term loans. They are illustrative rather than a quote, because every funder sets its own leverage, covenants and pricing. When you want funder-specific numbers, the initial consultation is fee-free.
Enquiry
Turn the model into a funding structure
Same-business-day callback. Whole-of-market access to 40+ banks, debt funds and asset based lenders. Initial consultation fee-free.
- Whole-of-market: banks, unitranche and mezzanine funds, cash flow lenders, asset based lenders and private equity.
- A funding structure and indicative terms before you commit to anything.
- Initial consultation always fee-free. Confidential.