Is your partner trying to buy you out for less than you’re worth?
Before you agree to anything — before you sign a single document — you need to
know what your share in this business is actually worth. Not what they say it’s
worth. Not what their accountant says it’s worth. What it is objectively worth.
In our experience, the gap between what a buying partner offers and the true independent
value of a shareholding is frequently 20% to 40%. On a business worth £2m, that gap
can be £400k to £800k of your money.
Their accountant works for them. Any valuation they present was produced
to serve their interests, not yours. It may be technically defensible while being
deeply unfair to you.
Time pressure is a tactic. If they are pushing you to decide quickly,
it is usually because a slower, properly considered process would result in a higher
price for you.
Once you sign, it is almost impossible to undo. An independent
valuation before the event costs a fraction of what you stand to lose by not
having one.
Completely confidential · No obligation · Response within one business day
K
Kishen Patel, BFP ACA
ICAEW Chartered Accountant · Big Four Trained
Find out what your share is actually worth.
Confidential. No obligation. We respond within one business day.
ICAEW Chartered Accountant
Big Four Trained at Deloitte
Reports Used in Legal Proceedings
7–10 Day Turnaround
Does any of this sound familiar?
These are the situations we are called into most often. If you recognise yours,
you need an independent valuation before anything else happens.
“My partner wants to buy me out and the number feels wrong.”
They have presented a number. You have no way to verify it independently.
You do not know if it reflects the true value of what you have built together —
or what they believe they can get away with.
“They’re pressuring me to sign quickly.”
Deadlines are being set. Solicitors are being mentioned. The implication is that
delays will make things worse. This pressure is almost always a negotiating tactic —
and it works, unless you have an independent number to anchor against.
“I’m a minority shareholder and I think I’m being pushed out.”
Minority shareholders are in a structurally weaker position — but that does not mean
your shares are worth nothing or that a minority discount should be applied without
proper justification. Many minority shareholders accept significant undervaluation
because they do not challenge it.
“The business is doing well. Their offer doesn’t reflect that.”
Buyout offers often use historical accounts rather than forward-looking value. A business
growing at 30% per year should not be valued on last year’s EBITDA as if the growth
does not exist. A proper valuation accounts for trajectory, not just history.
“I’m being forced out and my solicitor says I need a valuation.”
Solicitors handling shareholder disputes need an expert valuation to anchor their
negotiations and, if necessary, their court filings. We produce reports to the
standard required for legal proceedings and work directly with your legal team.
“We’ve agreed in principle — I just want to verify the number is fair.”
Not every dispute is acrimonious. Sometimes you simply want an objective check —
confirmation that the deal is fair before you commit to it. That is equally valid,
and arguably the most sensible use of an independent valuation.
How much could the gap be?
The difference between an offer presented by one side and a true independent valuation
is rarely trivial. Here is what it looks like in practice.
Example Business
£1m
Annual Revenue
£200k
Normalised EBITDA
The Offers
Their Offer (3.5×)
£700k
Enterprise value
Independent Value (5.5×)
£1.1m
Enterprise value
The Gap
£400k
That is what an independent valuation could mean to you — on a relatively modest business.
Figures are illustrative. Actual multiples depend on sector, business quality, and deal structure.
The point is that the gap between a self-serving offer and an independent valuation is frequently material.
What we produce — and what it does for you
01
We establish the true normalised EBITDA
Reported accounts are rarely the right starting point. We identify every legitimate
normalisation adjustment — the owner’s above-market salary, one-off costs, related-party
transactions, personal expenses — and arrive at the earnings figure that genuinely
reflects the business’s underlying cash generation.
02
We apply the right methodology for your situation
EBITDA multiples cross-checked against DCF analysis and comparable UK transactions.
For minority shareholdings, we assess whether any discount is actually justified —
and at what level — rather than accepting one as a given.
03
We produce a report that holds up in any room
Signed by an ICAEW Chartered Accountant. Full methodology, documented assumptions,
and comparable transaction evidence. Produced to the standard required for legal
proceedings, mediation, and formal arbitration. Their advisers cannot simply dismiss it.
04
We work directly with your legal team if needed
If your solicitor or barrister needs to understand the methodology, challenge assumptions
in the opposing valuation, or use our report as a basis for negotiation, we engage
directly. We are experienced in adversarial valuation contexts.
Kishen Patel
Founder, Consult EFC · BFP ACA
In a shareholder dispute, the calibre of your valuer matters enormously. The other side
will have advisers. If your valuation report is challenged, it needs to be defensible by
someone who can hold that position under professional scrutiny.
Kishen is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant who trained at Deloitte and has spent over
12 years across Big Four audit, Investment Banking, and corporate advisory. He leads
every engagement personally. There are no junior analysts. Every assumption in the
report is one he is prepared to defend directly.
ICAEW Chartered AccountantBig Four Trained12+ Years ExperienceLegal Proceedings Experience
“
My business partner had been pushing a buyout figure for months. I instinctively
felt it was low but had nothing concrete to argue with. Consult EFC produced an
independent valuation that put the enterprise value 38% higher than what had been
presented. That report changed the entire negotiation. I came away with a number
I was genuinely comfortable with. The fee was nothing compared to what it recovered.
R
Richard T.
Shareholder Dispute · Professional Services Firm
Questions we get asked most
You can negotiate without one, and many people do. What you cannot do is negotiate from
a position of knowledge. Without an independent valuation, you are negotiating
against someone who almost certainly has a number in mind and advisers supporting it.
The independent valuation is not just a document — it is the anchor for every
conversation that follows. It is the difference between arguing and proving.
They can dispute it — and they may. What they cannot do is dismiss a signed,
methodologically rigorous report from an ICAEW Chartered Accountant with Big Four
training without producing a credible counter-argument. Our reports are built to
withstand challenge. Every assumption is documented. Every methodology choice is
explained. If proceedings escalate, the report holds up. If they want to produce
their own valuation and the two reports differ significantly, that gap becomes the
subject of negotiation — which is a far better position than accepting their number
without challenge.
Our standard turnaround for shareholder dispute valuations is 7 to 10 business days
from receiving the financial information. In situations where there is genuine urgency,
we discuss a faster timeline during the initial call. The most important thing is to
contact us now — the process cannot start until you do. The time pressure they are
creating is almost always a tactic. Responding to it by rushing into a bad deal costs
far more than a short delay while an independent report is produced.
Almost certainly yes. A 20% share in a business generating £500k of EBITDA,
at a 5x multiple, represents £500k of value before any discount. The question of
whether a minority discount applies — and at what level — is itself a technical
judgement that depends on the shareholder agreement, the articles of association,
and the specific circumstances of the dispute. Many minority shareholders accept
discounts far larger than are actually defensible because no-one has challenged them.
An independent valuation tells you what discount, if any, is genuinely justified.
We agree a fixed fee before any work begins, so there are no surprises. The fee depends
on the complexity of the business, the nature of the dispute, and whether legal
proceedings are involved. We discuss this in the initial conversation — there is no
obligation to proceed. What we can say is that in disputes involving any material
shareholding, the fee is typically a small fraction of what the valuation gap turns
out to be. Contact us and we will give you a clear number upfront.
Yes. Everything you share with us is treated with complete confidentiality.
We do not discuss your situation with any third party without your explicit consent.
The valuation report is yours — you decide what to do with it, when, and with whom.
Many clients come to us in the early stages of a dispute before involving solicitors.
That is a perfectly sensible approach and we are experienced in handling sensitive
situations with discretion.
Do not agree to anything until you know your number.
Every day you wait is a day closer to signing something that cannot be undone.
The initial conversation costs you nothing. The report is fixed fee, agreed upfront.
And knowing what your business is actually worth changes everything about how you
approach what comes next.
