Corporate finance transactions are not an everyday activity and it is unlikely your team will have the skills and knowledge required to navigate a deal. We provide expert advice to ensure a successful outcome.

We have been delivering valuations of all types of businesses for many years. We are an ICAEW-registered firm and our opinions have been used robustly in private transactions, HMRC tax cases and divorce or shareholder dispute cases as expert witness. Our exposure both to the theoretical and the practical nature of deals means that we are perfectly placed to guide you on valuation of any business.

Yes you can. In fact, it is a recognised valuation technique and one that we use. However, used in isolation this technique can be misleading. Every business is unique and as many factors as possible need to be taken into account to arrive at an accurate view. It is also likely that the amount of information that you are able to access on a similar business is limited, or potentially distorted depending on its source.

In some cases, yes - but very rarely. Valuation of a business starts from estimating the cash flows that the business will likely make in the future and assessing the risk or probability that these will be delivered. There are also various short cut techniques such as multiples of various trading metrics that derive an enterprise value. From there we look at the balance sheet to determine the level of cash, non-trading assets, debt and working capital within the business needed to support the trading. This can add or detract from the enterprise value and this is known as the Equity Value. The adjustment to get from one to the other is not linked to the net asset value of the business.

No, we are not brokers. We are professional advisors. Whilst our role often involves the introduction of parties to a deal, our value is much greater than a simple introduction service. We support you in the development and articulation of your business case, the negotiation of terms and the management of completion - all of which materially improve the end result, adding significant value to your transaction.

Yes, the equity value of a business (the amount that the shares will be sold for) always takes into account the levels of debt in the business as well as any surplus cash or other assets. It can often be the case that the level of debt can materially influence the valuation. Depending on where the business is in its life cycle, a large debt burden can prohibit an exit for a period of time whilst the enterprise value grows from the investment that the debt facilitated. In other cases a large debt burden can be the result of a poor working capital cycle which will need to be addressed to drive value into the equity.

It is very common for business owners to believe the value of their business is materially greater than its likely value in the market. This often comes from misunderstanding business valuation techniques, or from wishful thinking. However, if our valuation of your business is less than you had hoped, we can help you build a plan to drive its value.

Our valuation reports are offered at a fixed price which we will agree with you before commencing our work. Our valuation fees start from £4,500 (plus VAT), increasing based on the complexity of the business we are valuing and intended use of the report.

To value a business correctly you first have to truly understand it. This takes time. A valuation can be completed over a period of three to four weeks if information can be readily provided to us. We will also need regular access to your management team to discuss the business and answer our questions.

We have specific sector knowledge derived from many years of collective deal making experience. However, we pride ourselves on the diversity of sectors we work with which challenges us to think creatively. This creative and challenging approach brings huge value to our clients when helping them to build robust business cases. See some of our specific sector experience.

We take all of our clients through a carefully crafted journey. This not only ensures that we are a great match for each other but, once engaged, it helps us to deliver exceptional client service that exceeds expectations.