London & the South East
Business valuation in London
Independent, written valuations for London business owners and their advisers. Fixed fee from £495, report delivered in three working days. We don't sell businesses and we don't do accounts — so the figure is not written to win anything else.
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
Fixed fee from £495
Written report in 3 working days. Quote back within the hour, no obligation.
1,000+ UK valuations completed. We don't sell businesses, so there's no incentive to move the figure.
Covering Greater London and the South East
London has the widest range of buyers in the country and the widest range of valuation opinions to go with it. Owners here are frequently quoted a number by a broker or an acquirer with an interest in the answer. An independent written valuation gives you something you can hold a position with — and something a solicitor or the court can rely on.
The work is delivered remotely from Bristol, working from your accounts and management information, so there is no site visit to arrange and location never delays the report. We work with owners across the City, Canary Wharf, Croydon, Watford, Kent, Surrey and Essex, alongside their accountants and solicitors.
Who is buying London businesses
London owners deal with a deeper and more aggressive buyer pool than anywhere else in the UK: private-equity-backed platforms rolling up agencies and IT providers, overseas trade buyers wanting a UK base, and management teams backed by debt funds. That depth is an advantage, but it also means most owners hear their first number from someone on the other side of the table.
In our experience the gap between the first approach and the eventual deal price is widest in London, because the approach is usually opportunistic. Buyers open on a headline multiple of reported profit, not on normalised earnings, and the two can be a long way apart once director remuneration, property costs and one-off items are corrected.
The London cost base changes the earnings you should be valuing
Central London rent, rates and salary levels sit well above the national picture, and that shows up in two places. First, margins on the same work are usually thinner than a comparable business in the Midlands or the North, so applying a national sector multiple to reported profit understates or overstates value depending on which way the lease cuts.
Second, a lot of London SMEs occupy premises on short or flexible terms. Where a business has a below-market lease with a few years left, some of the reported profit is really a property benefit that a buyer will not pay a full multiple for. We separate that out and say so in the report, rather than leaving it buried in the earnings.
Owner remuneration needs the same treatment. A working owner paying themselves through a mix of small salary and dividends is common; the valuation normalises that to the cost of employing a replacement at London market rates, which is materially higher than the same role elsewhere.
Valuations for London legal and tax situations
A large share of our London work is not a sale at all. It is a figure needed for a specific purpose: a financial remedy in the Family Division, a share transfer between shareholders, an EMI option grant that needs an HMRC-defensible basis, or probate. Each of those has a different basis of valuation, and a report written for one purpose will be picked apart if used for another.
We state the basis on the first page, itemise every adjustment to earnings, and show the comparable evidence behind the multiple — so the other side's advisers can test it rather than simply disagree with it.
What moves the figure for a London business
How much of the business is you
London service businesses often carry the founder's client relationships. Where the top clients would follow you out of the door, the multiple comes down regardless of how good the profit line looks.
Recurring versus project income
A retained or contracted revenue base is worth substantially more than the same turnover won job by job. This is the single biggest swing factor we see across London agencies, IT providers and consultancies.
Client concentration
One client at 30% or more of revenue caps the multiple, and in London that concentration is frequently hidden behind a large-sounding turnover figure.
The lease
Length, rent review pattern and dilapidations exposure all get priced. A short lease on expensive space is a discount, not a detail.
An illustrative London example
A fictional London digital agency, shown to demonstrate how the figure is built rather than to suggest what any particular business is worth.
Illustrative and fictional. Your own figure depends on your accounts, your contracts and your buyer pool.
What you get
- A bespoke written valuation report, not a template or a calculator output.
- Normalised earnings, the multiple evidenced against comparable transactions, and a cross-check on an asset or cash-flow basis.
- Every assumption stated, so the figure can be tested by a buyer, a solicitor, a funder or HMRC.
- Fixed fee from £495, agreed before any work begins. Three working days from receiving your figures.
Reports are used for sale preparation, purchases, management buyouts, shareholder disputes, divorce proceedings, probate and HMRC submissions.
Sectors we're asked about in London
- Software and SaaS valuations
- B2B and professional services valuations
- Recruitment agency valuations
- E-commerce valuations
- Estate and letting agency valuations
Not listed? See all the sectors we value — the method is the same whatever you do.
Common questions from London owners
How do I get my London business valued?
Send your last one to three years of statutory accounts, your latest management figures and a short note on how the business runs. We agree a fixed fee in writing first, then return a bespoke written valuation report within three working days. Everything is done from your figures, so there is no site visit to arrange anywhere in London.
What does a business valuation cost in London?
A straightforward sale or buy-side valuation is a fixed fee from £495, agreed before any work starts — the same fee wherever in the UK you trade. Divorce and financial remedy, EMI, start-up and shareholder-dispute valuations involve more evidence and are quoted individually, always as a fixed fee rather than an hourly rate.
A London broker has already valued my business. Do I need another view?
A broker's figure is a marketing number produced by someone who earns on the sale. It may be high to win the instruction or low to make it easy to sell. An independent written valuation gives you a figure with the workings attached, which is what you need before you sign heads of terms or agree an asking price.
Do you work with London accountants and solicitors?
Regularly. We are instructed by City and wider London firms who need an independent figure their client's other side can also rely on — share transfers, partner exits, matrimonial proceedings and HMRC submissions. We do not sell businesses and do not do accounts work, so there is no conflict with your existing advisers.
Want the number for your London business?
Tell us the sector and rough turnover and we'll come back with a fixed fee and a timescale.
Fixed fee from £495
Written report in 3 working days. Quote back within the hour, no obligation.
1,000+ UK valuations completed. We don't sell businesses, so there's no incentive to move the figure.
Request a London business valuation.
An independent, fully evidenced figure in three working days. Fixed fee from £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