How Much Is Your
Business Actually Worth?
Most UK SME owners go to market without knowing their real number. They accept the buyer’s framing, miss earnings adjustments that could add hundreds of thousands, and leave value on the table. The ones who do not are the ones who commission an independent valuation first.
Request Your Valuation
ICAEW Chartered Accountant · Fixed fee · Response within 1 business day
Most Owners Leave 20–40% on the Table
Negotiate from a Documented Position
Without an independent valuation, you are negotiating blind. A signed report gives you a defensible number that holds up against a buyer, a lender, or a solicitor.
Close the Value Gaps Before You Go to Market
A valuation is not just a number — it is a diagnosis. We identify the factors suppressing your multiple before any buyer sees your financials.
A Report That Survives Scrutiny
An ICAEW-grade valuation is documented, signed, and methodologically sound. It can withstand interrogation from a buyer, HMRC, the Courts, or a shareholder.
Every Valuation We Offer
Business Valuation for Sale or Exit
Full, independent valuation using EBITDA multiples, DCF analysis, and comparable transaction research. Ideal for UK SME owners preparing to sell or planning an exit in the next 12–36 months.
Learn moreEMI Scheme Valuation
HMRC-compliant valuations for Enterprise Management Incentive option schemes. We handle the HMRC submission process and ensure your share valuation is defensible if challenged.
Learn moreShareholder Dispute Valuation
Independent, court-ready valuations for shareholder disputes, unfair prejudice petitions, compulsory buy-outs, and partnership dissolution. Produced to expert witness standards.
Learn moreMBO Business Valuation
Valuations for management buyouts — whether you are the incumbent team buying the business or an owner structuring a management exit. We work independently for either side.
Learn moreSSAS Pension Business Valuation
Valuations for Small Self-Administered Schemes acquiring a stake in a sponsoring employer. Produced to satisfy HMRC requirements and pension scheme trustees.
Learn moreBusiness Valuation Calculator
Get an indicative valuation range in under 60 seconds. Input your revenue, EBITDA, and sector to receive an instant estimate. No obligation. No email required to view.
Try the calculatorFrom First Call to Signed Report
Discovery Call
We spend 20–30 minutes understanding your business, your purpose, and the timeline. No charge. No obligation.
Information Request
We send a focused checklist — typically three years of accounts and a brief management questionnaire.
Analysis & Modelling
Our ICAEW-qualified team normalises your earnings, applies the relevant methodology, and benchmarks against comparable transactions.
Signed Report Delivered
You receive a full, signed valuation report within 7–10 working days. We then walk you through the findings and answer every question.
How to Value a Business in the UK
What Is a Business Valuation?
A business valuation is a formal process of determining the economic value of a company. For UK SMEs, this typically means producing a documented, defensible estimate of what a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction. It is not a guess, a broker’s estimate, or a rule of thumb — it is a methodologically sound analysis of your financials, your sector, and the market for comparable businesses.
Business owners need valuations for many reasons: preparing for a sale or exit, responding to a buyer approach, structuring an EMI scheme, resolving a shareholder dispute, completing a management buyout, or satisfying HMRC and pension trustees.
How Much Is My Business Worth?
The most common question we receive is: “How much is my business worth?” The answer depends on several factors — your normalised earnings (EBITDA), your growth rate, your sector, customer concentration, owner dependency, the quality of your management team, and the current state of the M&A market.
For most UK trading businesses, value is expressed as a multiple of EBITDA. The typical range for SMEs is 3x to 8x EBITDA, though high-growth, recurring-revenue businesses can exceed this significantly.
EBITDA Multiple Benchmarks by Sector (UK SMEs)
| Sector | Typical EBITDA Multiple | Key Value Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Technology / SaaS | 5x – 12x | Recurring revenue, churn rate, ARR growth |
| Professional Services | 4x – 8x | Client retention, fee earner depth, IP |
| Manufacturing | 3x – 6x | Asset base, customer diversification, contracts |
| Healthcare / Care Services | 4x – 9x | CQC rating, occupancy, regulatory compliance |
| Retail / E-commerce | 2x – 5x | Brand strength, repeat purchase, channel mix |
| Construction / Trades | 3x – 5x | Pipeline visibility, key man risk, contracts |
| Business Services | 4x – 7x | Contract length, client concentration, team |
Business Valuation Methods Used by UK Professionals
A credible, ICAEW-grade valuation will typically use more than one method and triangulate to a range. The most common methods for UK SMEs are:
- EBITDA Multiple Analysis: Your normalised earnings are multiplied by a sector-appropriate multiple derived from comparable transaction data and market conditions.
- Discounted Cash Flow (DCF): Projected future cash flows are discounted back to a present value using a discount rate that reflects the risk of the business.
- Comparable Transaction Analysis: Recent M&A deals in your sector are used to benchmark what buyers have actually paid for similar businesses.
- Asset-Based Valuation: Used primarily for asset-heavy businesses or distressed situations — values the net assets of the business rather than its earnings power.
What Drives Your Valuation Multiple?
Two businesses with identical EBITDA can have very different values. The factors that push your multiple up or down include:
- Revenue quality: Recurring, contracted revenue commands a higher multiple than project-based or one-off income.
- Customer concentration: If your top three customers account for more than 50% of revenue, buyers will apply a discount.
- Owner dependency: A business that cannot operate without the founder is harder to sell. Demonstrable management depth materially improves your multiple.
- Growth trajectory: Buyers pay for future earnings, not past performance. Strong, documented growth over two to three years is one of the most powerful value drivers.
- EBITDA margin: Higher margins signal pricing power and operational efficiency. Margin expansion over time is highly valued.
- Sector dynamics: M&A appetite, trade buyer activity, and private equity interest in your sector all affect the market for your business at any given time.
Why Use an Independent Business Valuation?
A broker’s indication of value is not a valuation. It is a marketing tool. An independent ICAEW-grade valuation is produced without any interest in the transaction — it exists solely to give you the most accurate, defensible number possible.
An independent valuation from Consult EFC gives you a signed, written report you can show to buyers, lenders, solicitors, or HMRC. It documents the methodology, the assumptions, and the conclusion in a way that can withstand professional scrutiny.
Business Valuation for UK Locations
Consult EFC provides independent business valuations for UK SMEs across England, Scotland, and Wales. We work with owner-managed businesses in London, Surrey, the South East, the Midlands, and across the rest of the UK.
“We had a buyer approach us and had no idea what to counter with. Consult EFC turned around a full valuation report in nine days. The report gave us a documented position we could defend, and the eventual sale price was significantly above the buyer’s initial offer.”UK Manufacturing Business Owner — Sale & Exit Valuation
Business Valuation FAQ
ICAEW Chartered Accountants. Not Business Brokers.
Consult EFC is a specialist business valuation practice for UK SMEs. We are led by an ICAEW Chartered Accountant with Big Four training at Deloitte and 12+ years of experience across investment banking, audit, and UK SME corporate advisory.
We do not take success fees. We do not act as brokers. Our only interest is in producing the most accurate, defensible valuation possible for you. Every engagement is personally led by a partner.
