How to Value a Trust and Fiduciary Business in 2026

Ask ten trust company owners what their business is worth and many will provide a surprisingly confident answer.

Ask ten active buyers the same question and the answers are likely to vary considerably.

That is because trust and fiduciary businesses are among the most difficult businesses to value accurately. While profitability remains important, buyers are ultimately trying to assess something far less tangible: the durability of client relationships, the quality of management, the strength of governance and the likelihood that the business will continue to thrive long after its founder has stepped away.

This distinction matters. In today's market, two trust companies with similar revenues, similar profitability and similar numbers of employees can achieve markedly different outcomes. One may attract multiple interested buyers and command a premium valuation. Another may struggle to generate meaningful competitive tension despite producing comparable financial results. Understanding why this happens is considerably more useful than simply understanding sector valuation multiples.

A Sector in Transition

The trust and fiduciary sector has entered a period of significant change. Over the past decade, consolidation has accelerated across major international financial centres including Guernsey, Jersey, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Strategic acquirers have sought to expand their geographic reach, private equity-backed platforms have become increasingly active, and rising compliance, technology and regulatory costs have encouraged firms to pursue greater scale.

The result has been a broadly favourable environment for shareholders considering succession, strategic partnerships or outright sales. Demand for high-quality trust and fiduciary businesses remains strong, and there is no shortage of buyers seeking exposure to the sector. Yet it would be wrong to conclude that all businesses are benefiting equally.

If anything, the opposite is true. While the overall market remains active, valuation outcomes have become increasingly dispersed. Businesses that might have been viewed similarly ten years ago are now achieving very different results. Buyers are becoming more selective, focusing less on size and more on quality. Increasingly, the key question is not whether a business is profitable, but whether those profits are sustainable, scalable and capable of surviving a change in ownership. This is one of the defining characteristics of the trust and fiduciary M&A market in 2026.

How Are Trust Companies Typically Valued?

Most trust company valuations continue to be anchored around maintainable EBITDA and comparable transaction multiples. At a basic level, buyers assess historical profitability, normalise earnings where appropriate and apply a valuation multiple reflecting the attractiveness of the business. While trust company EBITDA multiples vary considerably, this remains the foundation of most valuation discussions. However, the process becomes significantly more nuanced beyond that point.

Many owners understandably ask what multiple trust companies are currently achieving. While there are broad market ranges, the question is often less useful than it first appears. The more important question is why one business achieves a premium valuation while another does not. Two firms may generate identical EBITDA. Yet one may command a materially higher valuation because buyers perceive its earnings as more resilient, more predictable or more capable of future growth.

In other words, valuation is rarely a mathematical exercise alone. It is ultimately an assessment of future cash flows, future risks and future opportunities. Buyers are not acquiring historical profits. They are acquiring what they believe those profits can become.

Why Similar Firms Achieve Very Different Valuations

One of the most common misconceptions among business owners is that valuation is largely determined by financial performance. In reality, financial performance is merely the starting point. Over the years, we have observed numerous examples of businesses with similar revenues and similar profitability achieving dramatically different transaction outcomes. In some cases, the difference has amounted to several turns of EBITDA. In others, one business has attracted multiple bidders while another has struggled to secure serious interest.

The explanation usually lies in three areas: the quality of earnings, the quality of the organisation and the quality of the firm's market position.

The quality of earnings remains one of the most important drivers of value. Trust and fiduciary businesses are attractive because they often benefit from recurring revenues, long-standing client relationships and strong levels of client retention. However, buyers quickly distinguish between revenues that are genuinely durable and revenues that appear more vulnerable.

Client concentration is a good example. A business that derives a significant proportion of revenues from a handful of relationships may appear attractive on paper, but buyers immediately begin assessing what would happen if one of those clients departed. By contrast, a firm with a diversified client base and broad relationship ownership is likely to be viewed as more resilient.

Organic growth also matters. A business that continues to attract new clients and deepen existing relationships sends a powerful signal to the market. It suggests that the firm's reputation remains strong, its proposition remains relevant and its future earnings may exceed its current earnings. Buyers are generally willing to pay a premium for that potential.

The second area concerns organisational quality. Many trust companies have been built over decades by exceptional founders, often lawyers, accountants or fiduciary professionals who possess deep expertise and highly valued client relationships. These individuals are frequently central to the firm's success. Paradoxically, that can sometimes become a valuation challenge. The more dependent a business is on a single individual, the harder it becomes for buyers to assess how the business will perform after that individual eventually steps away. A founder who remains central to every major relationship, every strategic decision and every business development initiative may inadvertently reduce the perceived durability of future earnings. This does not mean founders should become less involved. It simply means that buyers place considerable value on institutionalisation. Businesses with strong second-tier management teams, clear governance structures and broad client ownership are generally viewed as less risky because they demonstrate an ability to thrive beyond the founder.

The third factor is market position. Some businesses possess characteristics that are difficult to replicate. This may involve a particularly attractive jurisdiction, a specialist area of expertise, a unique client base or a reputation built over decades. These characteristics often create strategic value that extends well beyond reported earnings. A buyer acquiring a fiduciary business in Guernsey is rarely buying EBITDA alone. They may be acquiring a respected local management team, access to a specific client segment, regulatory capabilities or relationships that would take years to build organically. These factors rarely appear in financial statements, yet they frequently influence valuation significantly.

Bigger Is Not Always Better

Conventional wisdom suggests that larger businesses command higher valuations. In many cases that is true. Scale can support investment in technology, strengthen compliance capabilities and improve operational resilience. However, size alone rarely determines value. Some of the most attractive businesses in the trust and fiduciary sector generate relatively modest profits. What they lack in scale they often make up for in client quality, management stability, reputation and market positioning.

Equally, larger businesses can sometimes face challenges of their own. Complexity, uneven profitability, integration issues and operational inefficiencies can all affect buyer perceptions.

Ultimately, buyers pay for confidence. A smaller business with highly predictable earnings, strong client retention and a credible succession plan may attract stronger interest than a larger business facing significant organisational challenges. The lesson is simple: size matters, but quality matters more.

Why Buyers Disagree

One of the most misunderstood aspects of valuation is the assumption that there is a single correct answer. There is not.

Different buyers frequently reach very different conclusions when assessing the same business. A strategic acquirer seeking expansion into a particular jurisdiction may view a business very differently from a private equity-backed platform focused on operational scalability. One buyer may place substantial value on a management team. Another may be more interested in the client base or growth prospects.

This is one reason why competitive transaction processes remain so important. The value of a business is not determined by what one buyer is willing to pay. It is determined by what the most motivated buyer is willing to pay. For shareholders, that distinction can be worth millions.

Lessons from Wealth Management

Many of these developments are not unique to trust and fiduciary services. In many respects, today's trust and fiduciary market resembles the wealth management sector a decade ago. Buyer interest remains strong, consolidation continues and high-quality businesses attract significant attention. However, as markets mature, valuation dispersion tends to increase. Businesses that once appeared broadly comparable begin to achieve markedly different outcomes as buyers become more selective and focus increasingly on quality rather than scale alone.

This evolution has been clearly visible within wealth management. Initially, consolidation was driven largely by size. Over time, however, buyers became far more discerning. Firms began to be assessed not only on assets under management but also on client retention, adviser quality, succession planning, management depth and organisational resilience.

The same pattern is increasingly evident within trust and fiduciary services. Having advised on transactions across wealth management and broader financial services, Dyer Baade has consistently observed that the strongest outcomes are rarely achieved by businesses focused solely on short-term profitability. More often, they are achieved by firms that invest in leadership, governance, client retention and long-term sustainability.

The market increasingly rewards quality.

The Human Dimension of Valuation

Unlike many industries, trust and fiduciary transactions are often driven by succession rather than financial necessity. Many owners remain actively involved in their businesses long after they could retire. In fact, some of the most successful firms in the sector continue to be led by founders who remain deeply committed to their clients and employees.

As a result, a transaction often becomes less about monetising an asset and more about finding a long-term steward for relationships built over decades. This is where valuation discussions frequently become more nuanced. Many founders know their largest clients personally. Some have advised the same families for a generation or more. Employees may have spent most of their professional careers within the organisation.

Consequently, conversations that begin with valuation often evolve into discussions about something entirely different. What happens to clients after the transaction? What happens to employees? Will decision-making remain local? Will the culture survive? Will the business continue to reflect the values upon which it was built?

These concerns rarely appear in financial models. Yet they often influence decisions more than the final turn of EBITDA multiple. Experienced buyers understand this reality. The most successful transactions are not merely financial transactions. They are succession solutions.

A Practical Illustration

The sale of Dubai-based Sandshore to Guernsey-based Praxis Group on which Dyer Baade & Company acted as lead adviser provides a useful example of this principle. While every transaction is unique, successful outcomes are rarely driven by valuation alone. The strongest transactions occur when commercial objectives, cultural alignment and long-term strategic interests are aligned. For founders, this distinction matters enormously.

The highest offer is not always the best offer. The buyer that pays the most on day one is not necessarily the buyer that provides the best long-term home for clients, employees and the legacy that has been built over many years. Understanding that distinction is often one of the most important parts of the transaction process.

Final Thoughts

The trust and fiduciary M&A market remains active in 2026 and consolidation is likely to continue for many years to come. However, valuation outcomes are becoming increasingly dispersed. The businesses achieving the strongest results are not necessarily the largest, oldest or most profitable. More often, they are the firms that have succeeded in institutionalising client relationships, developing management depth, building resilient organisations and creating platforms capable of thriving beyond their founders.

For shareholders considering succession, that may be the most important valuation lesson of all. Valuation is not simply a reflection of historical earnings. It is a reflection of how confidently a buyer believes those earnings can continue into the future. And in a sector built on trust, reputation and long-term relationships, that confidence is often the most valuable asset a business possesses.

Considering your Strategic Options?

Dyer Baade & Company is an independent M&A advisory firm specialising in transactions across financial and professional services, including wealth management, trust and fiduciary businesses, typically in the £20–200m valuation range. The firm combines strategic positioning with transaction execution to maximise valuation and deal certainty.

If you are considering a transaction, succession plan or strategic partnership within the next five years, we would be pleased to discuss your objectives in confidence.