Broker valuation check
Is the broker's figure right? Let's check it independently.
Whether you're a seller who has been given an asking price, or a buyer who has been handed a number in an information memorandum, we test it properly — line by line, with no stake in whether the deal happens.
Independent.We don't sell businesses. No success fee.
- 1,000+ UK business valuations
- 17 years of brokering & valuing experience
- Fixed fee from £495 — no hourly billing
- Report delivered in 3 working days
Why a broker's number needs checking
A broker's appraisal is a marketing document. It is produced free, usually in a couple of hours, to win or progress an instruction — and the broker is paid a percentage of a completed sale. That creates two well-known pulls in opposite directions: a high figure wins the mandate, and a lower figure closes the deal once the business has been on the market for a while. Neither pull has anything to do with what the business is actually worth.
We charge a fixed fee and take nothing from any transaction. There is no commission at the end of our work, no panel of buyers we are quietly steering you towards, and no reason for our figure to be anything other than the one we can defend.
I spent over a decade as a broker. I know how the figure is built.
Before founding The Business Valuers, James Nelson spent more than ten years in business brokerage — pricing businesses, taking them to market, and negotiating with buyers and their advisers on the other side of the table. That background is the point of this service.
It means we read a broker appraisal the way the person who wrote it does: we know which adjustments get made to flatter maintainable earnings, which sector multiples get quoted without a comparable behind them, where stock and working capital quietly move the headline, and what a buyer's adviser will attack first in diligence. We aren't guessing at the broker's method — we've used it.
What the report actually contains
Not a one-page number. A written, bespoke report you can put in front of a buyer, a seller, a lender, an accountant or a board:
- —A normalised earnings rebuild — every adjustment to the reported profit set out, explained and justified, so the earnings base is one both sides can interrogate.
- —Method and basis of valuation stated in full — earnings multiple, DCF or asset-based, and why that method fits this business.
- —Multiple selection benchmarked to comparable UK SME transactions, not asking prices, with the reasoning for each step up or down.
- —A point-by-point reconciliation with the broker's figure — where we agree, where we don't, and how much each difference is worth in pounds.
- —The risk factors that move the number: customer concentration, owner-dependence, contract length, lease terms, staff retention, capex overhang.
- —Treatment of net debt, surplus assets, property and normal working capital, so the enterprise value converts correctly to what actually lands with the seller.
- —A defensible value range with our reasoning, not a single figure presented without workings.
Fixed fee, typically £495, delivered in 72 hours from receiving the accounts and the broker's appraisal or IM.
Selling? Our fee is often covered by the broker.
If you go on to sell, and you use a broker we introduce or work alongside, the broker will frequently absorb or credit our fee against their commission on completion. In practice that means the independent check costs you nothing in the round — you simply get an accurate price before you commit to a marketing figure you can't walk back from.
We'll tell you plainly at the quote stage whether that applies to your situation. We never make the arrangement conditional on you using anyone in particular; the valuation stands on its own either way.
Broker advice for sellers: sourcing, recommending and negotiating terms
Choosing the wrong broker costs far more than choosing the wrong price. Long tie-in periods, upfront marketing fees, minimum commissions payable whether or not you sell, and exclusivity clauses that survive termination are all standard in the market and all negotiable. Most owners sign the first agreement put in front of them because they have no comparison.
Alongside the valuation, we can:
- —Source brokers suited to your sector, size and buyer type — trade sale, private equity, MBO or an off-market approach — rather than whoever markets hardest.
- —Recommend a shortlist, with the reasoning: track record in your sector, realistic buyer reach, and how they are actually paid.
- —Review and negotiate the engagement terms: commission rate and structure, tie-in length, upfront and marketing fees, minimum fees, exclusivity, tail periods and termination rights.
- —Sense-check the asking price the broker proposes against our independent figure before you go to market.
- —Stay alongside you during the process as an independent sounding board when offers come in.
We are not a broker and we don't sell businesses. That is precisely why this advice is worth having.
This is for you if…
- —You're a seller and want to know whether the broker's asking price is realistic before you commit to it.
- —Your business has sat on the market and the broker is now pushing you to reduce — you want to know if that's justified.
- —You're a buyer and the figure in the information memorandum looks high, or the adjustments look generous.
- —You're being asked to sign a broker agreement and want the terms reviewed before you do.
- —You need a valuation a lender, an accountant or a co-shareholder will accept, not a marketing appraisal.
Common questions
Are business broker valuations accurate?
They can be — plenty of brokers price sensibly. But the appraisal is a marketing estimate produced by someone paid on completion, not an independent valuation, and it rarely shows its workings. Where it matters, check it.
Should I get a second opinion on my broker's valuation?
If the figure will drive a decision you can't reverse, yes. A fixed fee of around £495 against a six or seven-figure business is small insurance, and a confirmation is as useful as a correction — it gives you something to hold the line with.
Can the cost be covered by my broker?
Often. Where you sell through a broker we introduce or work alongside, the fee is frequently absorbed or credited against their commission at completion. We confirm this when we quote.
What should a buyer check in a seller's valuation?
The add-backs, the sustainability of the earnings base, customer concentration, owner-dependence, the treatment of net debt and working capital, and whether the multiple is supported by comparable completed transactions rather than asking prices. Read our guide to checking a broker's valuation.
How quickly can you turn it around?
72 hours from receiving your accounts, current management figures and the broker's appraisal or information memorandum.
Get the broker's figure checked.
An independent written second opinion in 72 hours, fixed fee, typically £495.
Independent.We don't sell businesses. No success fee.
- 1,000+ UK business valuations
- 17 years of brokering & valuing experience
- Fixed fee from £495 — no hourly billing
- Report delivered in 3 working days