What Software Circle plc paid

3 disclosed prices, what it deploys, what it owes and what its capital costs — every figure from a filed account.

The register tracks Software Circle plc as one of 13 European software serial acquirers, with accounts in GBP. It is quoted (stated on the cost-of-capital page). 3 of its acquisitions disclose enough to price (3 of them as a cohort or aggregate rather than a single company). Those were paid between 1.18x and 3.92x the acquired company’s annual revenue; the median is 2.10x, against a register median of 3.14x. In 2026 it deployed 14.1 EUR m across 2 acquisitions (cumulative, 7.04 EUR m average cheque). Net debt stood at 0.51x its revenue at 2026, and interest took 4.3% of revenue.

3acquisitions on file with a disclosed price — of 2 made in 2026

2.10xmedian price paid per unit of annual revenue (1.18x–3.92x)

14.1EUR m deployed in 2026 (cumulative)

4.3%of revenue goes out as interest (2026)

Acquisitions on file, with a price

One row per disclosed observation. Colour of the basis tag shows where the number comes from, as on the prices page. Click a company for its own page.

Acquired company	Revenue, EUR m	Year	Price paid	Basis
vintage 2023	8.5	2023	1.18x	reconstructed
vintage 2025	5.1	2025	2.10x	reconstructed
vintage 2024	1.3	2024	3.92x	reconstructed

Price paid per unit of the acquired company’s annual revenue. 0 of the 3 rows are measured — consideration and revenue both stated in the acquisition note; reconstructed means derived from disclosed revenue and goodwill bridges, because the buyer never states the price per acquisition; the individual figure appears nowhere. Cohort and aggregate rows are one figure for several companies and have no page of their own. Amounts are converted to euro at the ECB annual reference rate; the multiples are ratios within one currency and are not converted.

What it deploys

In 2026, Software Circle deployed 14.1 EUR m across 2 acquisitions — the cumulative figure; buying often and deploying heavily are not the same strategy. The average cheque was 7.04 EUR m.

Capital deployed EUR m	as filed		Acquisitions	Average cheque EUR m	Year	Basis
14.1	12.1	GBP	2	7.04	2026	cumulative

“Cumulative” is the step between two disclosed running totals — the buyer publishes what it has deployed since inception but not what it spent in the year, so the year is our subtraction rather than its statement. Converted to euro at the ECB annual reference rate for the buyer’s own reporting year; the figure as filed stands beside it. Full table: how much they deploy.

What it owes, and what it costs

Software Circle carried 11 GBP m of net debt against 22 GBP m of revenue at 2026 — 0.51x its revenue, interest-bearing borrowings less cash. Interest actually paid in 2026 was 0.9 GBP m, 4.3% of revenue; unadjusted EBITDA covered it 7.03x over, and net debt stood at 1.71x EBITDA.

Instrument	Lender or venue	Amount		Rate	Matures
Revolving Credit Facility revolving facility	Santander UK plc	25.0 committed	GBP m	SONIA + 2.00 to 3.00 per cent (ratchet by leverage ratio)	20 May 2030
Accordion (uncommitted) revolving facility	Santander UK plc	10.0 committed	GBP m	as the facility, subject to the bank's approval	20 May 2030

Every instrument on file for Software Circle, in its own currency, not converted; a facility marked committed is a line that may be drawn, not money owed. Covenant: gross leverage ≤ 4 (at 1.8) interest cover ≥ 4 — tested quarterly from 30 September 2026. The comparison across buyers is on the debt page.

What its own capital costs

This section is estimated, not measured. The cost of debt comes from the contracts above; what equity costs and what the equity is worth are assumptions, printed with the table on the cost of capital page.

Cost of debt	Borrowed in	Debt weight	Cost of equity	WACC	Earnings may fall	Equity
6.5%	GBP	16%	11.7%	10.7%	86%	quoted

The last column needs no assumption: it is how far earnings can drop before they no longer cover the year’s cash interest, both figures straight from the accounts.

What this does not support

3 priced deals is not a distribution. Below four prices the median is the middle of a couple of points, and the range is the distance between them.
These are revenue multiples, not earnings multiples. Most acquisition notes give no usable profit figure for the company bought.

Sources

Every figure on this page is read from a filed account or the buyer’s own published report; the register keeps the source, retrieval date and parser version for each one. Method and limits.

Other acquirers

Bending Spoons S.p.A. (median 2.10x) · Topicus.com (median 2.08x) · Constellation Software (deployed 1’429.6 EUR m) · all acquirers

The rest of the register

Guess what serial acquirers paid →What European software serial acquirers actually pay, from filed accounts. Guess the price, then see the source.

What was paid, per unit of revenue →Every disclosed acquisition price in the register, one row per observation, coloured by how well it is evidenced.

The acquirers, one by one →Every tracked buyer with its prices, capital deployed, debt and what its capital costs.

Every deal on file →One page per disclosed acquisition, with the filed source and where its price sits in the register.

How much they deploy →How much capital each European software serial acquirer actually puts to work, and across how many acquisitions.

What they owe, and what it costs →Net debt against revenue, the interest each buyer actually pays, and every credit facility on file with its terms.

What their own capital costs →An estimate of what each buyer pays for capital, set against the 20-30% return they demand of the companies they buy.

Method, limits and imprint →How every figure in this register is sourced, what the sample does not support, and the legal notices.

Figures as at 2026-09-08. Every number on this page comes from a filed account or a company’s own published report — how, and what it does not support.