Cost guide

How much does a business valuation cost in the UK?

A straightforward sale or buy-side SME valuation from The Business Valuers is from £495, with the fixed fee agreed before work begins and delivery usually within 3 working days. Specialist work starts at different prices: divorce from £795, shareholder disputes from £895, and tax, probate, EMI and start-up valuations from £995. Across the wider UK market, formal written valuation reports typically cost £2,000 to £10,000+ and take two to four weeks.

Market figures are indicative, drawn from published UK pricing.

What drives cost in the wider market

Complexity moves the fee more than anything else. A single trading company is straightforward; multi-entity groups, property holdings and intercompany balances take longer. Purpose matters too — reports for disputes and expert-witness work carry additional duties. Big-firm letterhead adds cost, but what actually gives a report standing is the independence of the valuer and the rigour of the workings.

Why our fee is fixed and lower

We do one thing, repeatedly, well. The practice is a focused product — bespoke SME valuations, no onward mandate to sell your business, no accounts work bolted on. One senior valuer works on every report. That focus is what makes the £495 standard sale or buy-side fee and 3-working-day turnaround possible without cutting the depth of the report itself. Specialist work is priced for its additional scope.

What's included

Every report contains normalised earnings with each adjustment itemised, the basis of valuation and why it fits the purpose, the three methods triangulated (earnings multiple, net asset valuation, discounted cash flow), the comparable-transaction evidence behind the multiple, and a stated figure or range. Reports are written to hold up in front of HMRC, opposing parties, courts and acquirers.

When you might need more than a standard report

Multi-entity groups, matrimonial forensic work, and formal expert-witness reports for litigation sit outside the standard fixed fee. We will tell you honestly at the quote stage if your situation calls for a scoped bespoke fee instead, and roughly what to expect.

Cost by purpose

The purpose you need the valuation for does more to set the fee than the size of the business. A sale or purchase sense-check is a defined piece of work. A figure that has to survive an opposing solicitor, or HMRC, requires more evidence and more care, and is quoted individually.

Every fee is agreed in writing before any work starts. There is no hourly rate, no success fee and no charge for the initial conversation.

Why two quotes for the same job differ so much

Who signs it. A large part of a big-firm fee is the cost of the letterhead and the partner time attached to it. That buys comfort, not accuracy. What gives a report standing is the independence of the valuer and whether the workings can be tested.

How it is scoped. A valuation prepared as an add-on to compliance work is scoped to whatever time the file allows. A valuation prepared as its own product is scoped to what the question needs. The second is usually quicker and more useful.

Whether it is really free. A broker's valuation costs nothing up front because it is a marketing document produced by someone who earns only if you sell through them. The cost arrives later, in the asking price it anchors you to.

Hourly versus fixed. An hourly quote is a range, and the range moves once the work begins. We do not quote hourly for anything, so the number you are given is the number you pay.

Is it worth paying for one at all?

Set against the size of the decision, a valuation is a small number. Owners routinely accept or reject offers hundreds of thousands of pounds apart on the strength of a figure nobody has tested. The most common use of our reports is not to justify a price, but to stop someone agreeing to the wrong one — in heads of terms, in a shareholder buyout, or in a settlement where the business is the largest asset on the table.

Common questions

Related: UK sector valuation multiples, what drives the cost of a business valuation, and why free usually costs the most, and what a divorce valuation involves.