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Buy & sell advisory · multi-unit restaurants

Know the business before you price the deal.

The decision starts with earnings you can support and risks you can explain. We examine the financial and operating picture location by location, before surprises become deal terms.

Discuss Your Transaction

Financial and operational analysis for multi-unit restaurant groups preparing for a sale, evaluating an acquisition, or considering an ownership change.

  • Multi-unit restaurant groups
  • Location-level financial review
  • Pre-transaction decision support

Where we can help

Different transactions. Different questions.

A seller needs a defensible story. A buyer needs to test it. Our work starts with the decision you are making, not a generic valuation worksheet.

  • Sale Readiness Review

    Before a sale process begins, examine the earnings, location performance, leases, and management dependencies a serious buyer is likely to question. Separate what is documented from what still needs work.

    • Location-level performance and earnings questions
    • Proposed adjustments and supporting evidence
    • Priority issues to resolve before going to market

  • Acquisition Review

    Before an offer or deeper diligence, challenge the seller's numbers, compare performance across locations, and surface operating obligations that could affect price, terms, or your willingness to proceed.

    • Reported versus supportable earnings
    • Unit-level exposure and capital needs
    • Questions for the deal team and next diligence stage

Considering an investor or operating partner? We define the review around the proposed transaction.

How value is tested

A multiple is not a purchase price.

Reported EBITDAproposed adjustmentsadjusted earnings×supportable multipleindicative enterprise valuenegotiated termspossible equity proceeds

Adjusted EBITDA can inform an estimate of enterprise value, but only after the underlying earnings and proposed adjustments have been examined. A multiple is a market judgment, not a universal restaurant formula.

Follow the numbers all the way through.

  1. Reported EBITDA and proposed adjustments
  2. Evidence-supported adjusted earnings
  3. An appropriate, supportable multiple → indicative enterprise value
  4. Debt, cash, working capital, deal structure and negotiated terms → possible equity proceeds
  • Potential: A discrepancy or opportunity identified for review. It may not withstand validation.
  • Confirmed: A finding supported by contracts, invoices, statements or an agreed baseline.
  • Realized: A recovery received, an expense reduced or a measured improvement reflected in results.

Six areas to test

What the headline P&L can miss.

A multi-unit transaction is shaped by the performance of individual restaurants and by obligations that do not appear neatly in a consolidated EBITDA figure.

  • Earnings quality Recurring expenses, owner compensation, shared overhead, one-time items, and evidence supporting proposed EBITDA adjustments.
  • Restaurant-by-restaurant economics Sales trends, site margins, underperforming units, labor and food costs, and uneven reinvestment needs.
  • Leases and approvals Lease duration, rent resets, change-of-control provisions, franchise approvals, licenses, and transfer conditions.
  • Cash and obligations Payables, tax exposures, working capital, debt-like items, deposits, and liabilities requiring specialist review.
  • Leadership and continuity Management depth, owner-dependent relationships, key-person exposure, and post-transaction operating capacity.
  • Contracts and operating controls Vendor commitments, pricing compliance, processing costs, reporting gaps, and weaknesses that may require follow-up.

How the review works

A defined review, not an open-ended project.

The work and deliverables are agreed to up front. We focus on the financial and operational questions that matter to the stage of your transaction.

  1. Frame the decision

    Confirm the transaction stage, available records, decision-makers, and the questions you need answered.

  2. Test the operating picture

    Review group and location-level results alongside the contracts, people, and obligations behind those results.

  3. Separate evidence from assumptions

    Identify potential issues, what the records confirm, and what remains unverified or requires a specialist.

  4. Prioritize the next move

    Organize findings into decisions, follow-up diligence, and actions that may be appropriate before an offer or sale process.

Findings are classified by what is potential, confirmed from available evidence, and unresolved. We do not treat a proposed adjustment or estimated improvement as realized transaction value.

What the work is for

Leave with a clearer decision.

Depending on the agreed scope, the review is designed to produce a concise set of findings you can use with your leadership team and transaction advisers.

  • 01

    Earnings and location findings

    Where reported results need explanation, reconciliation, or additional support.

  • 02

    Transaction risk register

    Which issues are documented, which remain open, and why each could matter to price, terms, timing, or continuity.

  • 03

    Open questions and next reviews

    A prioritized list of financial and operational findings, unresolved questions, and matters requiring additional review by your leadership team or outside specialists.

Who it's for

Built for operators making consequential decisions.

The best fit is a multi-unit owner, executive, investor, or acquisition team that has a specific transaction question and access to meaningful operating records.

Common situations

  • Owners preparing for a possible sale or partial exit.
  • Acquisition teams assessing a multi-unit restaurant platform.
  • Leadership groups discussing an investor, buyout, or ownership change.

Where our work fits

  • Our work focuses on restaurant financial performance, earnings support, operating risks, and transaction preparation. We do not act as transaction brokers, solicit buyers or investors, negotiate transactions on clients' behalf, or handle transaction funds. Legal, tax, accounting assurance, and other specialist services are provided separately as needed.

Scope and fees

  • The free diagnostic is a limited first look at one question, from the documents on our list, and comes back as a short written note. Any paid engagement, work product, fee, and timing are agreed before work begins.

Our role and its limits

Questions before the first conversation.

Are you a business broker or investment bank?

No. Clear Profit Partners provides financial and operational consulting related to potential business transactions. We do not list businesses, solicit buyers or investors, or represent clients in transaction negotiations. Our analysis can support the work of your attorney, accountant, business broker, or investment banker.

Will you tell us exactly what the group is worth?

Not from a short call or a generic multiple. We can examine earnings and transaction factors that inform an indicative view. A formal valuation, appraisal, or fairness opinion requires a separate engagement with a qualified provider.

Can you review a business before we sign an LOI?

A preliminary review can be scoped when access and timing allow. It is not a substitute for legal, tax, financial, or operational diligence required to complete a transaction.

Do potential savings or EBITDA adjustments increase the price automatically?

No. A possible cost reduction or proposed add-back is not confirmed earnings. Even an evidence-supported adjustment may be rejected or priced differently by a buyer. Actual proceeds are determined by negotiated terms and the closing outcome.

What does the free diagnostic include?

A limited first look at one question, from the documents on our list, coming back as a short written note. We explain whether a defined review may help and discuss the scope and fees before any paid work starts. The diagnostic does not include a formal valuation or completed diligence report.

A restaurant dining room set for service, rattan chairs, a long banquette and woven pendant lamps

Start with the facts

Know what needs to be answered before the deal moves.

Tell us whether you are preparing to sell, evaluating an acquisition, or considering a partner. We can discuss fit before you share any records.

Discuss Your TransactionRequest a Free Diagnostic

The initial diagnostic is not a valuation opinion, buyer search, completed diligence report, or commitment to accept an engagement.