The situation
Thousands of family food companies in Spain were founded between 1975 and 1995. Their founders are now between 60 and 75. In many of them the children studied something else, live in another city or do not want a business that demands being at the plant at six in the morning.
The result is a pool of profitable companies, with loyal clients and no debt, at risk of closing not because they are doing badly but because nobody is there to run them.
58% of food-industry owners over 60 have no identified successor in the family. Source: investin.barcelona observatory, February 2026.
The three exits
Closing. The default exit and the worst one: goodwill is lost, staff are paid off and the buildings are sold at industrial-land prices.
Handing over to a manager or the staff. It works when there is a second-in-command able to manage and to raise financing. It is rarer than it looks: those who know how to produce do not always want to borrow.
Selling to a buyer who continues. A sector group, a fund with an industrial thesis or a family office buys the company as a going concern, keeps the staff and usually asks the owner to stay during the transition. It is the exit that preserves most value, and the one this guide covers.
What the market pays
The buyer pays a multiple of normalised EBITDA. That multiple depends on the subsector, the size, the signed contracts and how much the business depends on the owner. Owned real estate and concessions are added separately.
| Subsector | EV/EBITDA | EBITDA margin | Typical ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine (appellation) | 6.0–8.5× | 14–22% | €3–30M |
| Sparkling wine | 6.5–9.0× | 15–24% | €10–60M |
| Olive oil mills | 5.0–7.0× | 9–15% | €2–12M |
| Cured meats | 5.5–7.5× | 16–24% | €2–15M |
Source: investin.barcelona observatory, closed transactions 2021–2025.
How a foreign buyer acquires one
NDA signed online and the memorandum the same day, with five years of accounts and the technical report (week 1). Questions, a call with the adviser and a first visit outside harvest or campaign season (weeks 2–6). Indicative offer and letter of intent with exclusivity (months 2–3). Your due diligence: financial, legal, tax and, already done for you, technical (months 3–4). Share purchase agreement signed before a Spanish notary (months 4–5). A foreign buyer needs about one month more than a domestic one, mainly for the tax number and a longer due diligence.
The company name never appears in a public listing. You learn it when you sign the NDA, and so does no one else who has not signed.
What to check as a buyer
- Normalised EBITDA, not reported EBITDA. Owners often pay themselves little; add a market salary for the manager you will need.
- Owner dependence. If key customers or suppliers deal only with the founder, agree a transition of 6 to 24 months and tie part of the price to it.
- Real estate at appraisal. In food companies land, buildings and concessions are a large share of the price; ask for the appraisal, not the book value.
- Licences and permits. Activity licence, environmental permit, water or mining concessions and their remaining term.
- A second-in-command. A company with someone who can sign orders and run the plant is worth more, and is far easier to own from abroad.