Founder and investor conversations
Identify the interest being discussed and the rights attached to it. Recent funding can be evidence, while preferences or timing may prevent a direct comparison with ordinary shares.
Business Valuation London | Consult EFC
Understand the business, the ownership interest and the assumptions before you negotiate around a headline number.
Consult EFC supports London founders, shareholders and management teams with purpose-specific business valuations. Work directly with Kishen Patel through a remote-first process, with meeting arrangements agreed for your brief.
The valuation brief
A London business valuation uses the same purpose-led discipline as other UK company valuations: define the subject, date, basis and intended use, then assess the financial and commercial evidence. Location alone does not establish a valuation premium or a separate method.
The brief behind the number
Identify the interest being discussed and the rights attached to it. Recent funding can be evidence, while preferences or timing may prevent a direct comparison with ordinary shares.
Understand maintainable earnings, cash conversion, customer exposure and the role of the owner. A buyer may need to replace work currently performed by shareholders.
Agree the purpose, date and intended users. Check whether agreements prescribe a basis or process and identify legal input before commissioning the analysis.
Technology and service businesses
In a software business, separate recurring subscriptions, usage and implementation income. In a professional-service business, examine delivery capacity, project margins, repeat work, contracts and dependence on key people. The value drivers should follow the actual model.
Growth can increase cash requirements before it improves earnings. Recruitment, project mobilisation, collections and infrastructure commitments belong in the financial analysis, rather than being excluded because the revenue forecast is attractive.
For a specialist subscription brief, explore SaaS business valuations. If a defined software, brand or other intangible asset is the subject, use IP valuation support.
Explore the detail
Explore illustrative earnings, an assumed multiple, cash and debt. The calculation explains a relationship; it does not establish the value of a London business or the rights of a particular shareholder.
Enterprise value = entered earnings × assumed multiple. Equity illustration = enterprise value + cash − debt + the entered other adjustment. Before fees, tax, share-class allocation or transaction terms. This is an illustration, not a valuation.
Each cell changes the entered earnings by up to 10% and the assumed multiple by up to 20%. These are chosen sensitivities, not market ranges. Equity adjustments are excluded from the table.
| Assumed multiple | 10% lower base | Entered base | 10% higher base |
|---|
A practical engagement
We begin with the decision, intended audience and information available. The proposal defines the report, relevant date, assumptions, responsibilities, fixed fee and VAT treatment.
Remote meetings and an agreed document-transfer process allow the work to fit around management. Any in-person meeting is arranged specifically rather than assumed from a location page.
The report should explain what drives the result and how it can be used. For the wider report approach and independence considerations, visit independent business valuation.
Illustrative discussion
Consider two otherwise identical businesses, one with more net debt or a different preference structure. Their operating-value discussion may start in a similar place, while the amount or distribution attributable to the equity differs.
The graphic isolates selected adjustments so that relationship is visible. A real assignment needs the relevant documents, definitions and evidence, including whether a whole company, controlling holding or minority interest is being valued.
Methodology
Relate an appropriate performance measure to relevant evidence. Normalisation, comparable rights, scale, risk and transaction terms need a reasoned assessment.
Assess the timing and risk of future cash flows, reinvestment and funding needs. Forecasts, terminal assumptions and the discount basis can materially affect the answer.
Consider relevant assets and liabilities on the agreed basis. Book amounts are not automatically economic values, and specialist property or asset input may be required.
No single method is right for every business. Share-class allocation, minority interests, tax bases and IP rights can require further analysis rather than a mechanical percentage or discount.
Your deliverable
01 / Brief
The subject, rights or interest, intended use and users are identified. A report for one purpose should not be assumed suitable for another.
02 / Evidence
The financial records, relevant documents and other evidence used are identified, with material limitations and assumptions made clear.
03 / Analysis
The selected approach and important assumptions are explained. The work should show the relationship between the evidence and the conclusion.
04 / Conclusion
The agreed report or other deliverable sets out the result, limitations and intended use. A walkthrough helps you understand the findings and the next questions.
The exact deliverable is agreed for your brief. Specialist advice, additional reliance, submissions, negotiations and follow-up work are included only where expressly scoped.
An agreed working process
Agree the business, interest or asset, purpose, date, intended use, deliverables, responsibilities, fixed fee and VAT treatment.
Assess the available financial and commercial evidence and identify missing information or specialist input.
Apply the agreed methods, investigate material assumptions and consider relevant sensitivities or allocation questions.
Provide the agreed deliverable and discussion, with limitations and next steps made clear.
Read further
From the journal
Understand the detail, then discuss the scope needed for your business.
From the journal
Understand the detail, then discuss the scope needed for your business.
Your questions
Yes. We support London businesses and shareholders through an agreed brief and remote-first working process. Meeting arrangements and any specialist involvement are confirmed for the assignment.
That depends on the business, purpose and evidence. Many information reviews and discussions can be handled remotely. Any necessary visit or specialist asset inspection is scoped rather than assumed.
Yes, subject to the defined interest and information. We assess the funding evidence alongside share rights, timing, preferences and the financial position.
We can assess a suitable brief using evidence such as maintainable earnings, client relationships, project performance, management capacity and owner dependencies.
Not by itself. The commercial model, growth, margins, cash generation, risks and relevant comparable evidence need to support any assumption.
Yes. We agree the work, deliverable, fixed fee, VAT treatment, timing and responsibilities after understanding the brief.
It can be scoped for an identified commercial purpose. Any prescribed agreement terms, legal process or third-party reliance must be discussed before starting.
A brief description of the business, reason for valuation, interest involved, date and deadline is enough to begin. Confidential records follow through an agreed process.
Work directly with the adviser
Tell us the decision, the interest or asset and any important date. We will help define the work.
Kishen Patel leads Consult EFC engagements. He is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant with a background in Big Four audit, investment banking and corporate advisory. Consult EFC has advised 100+ businesses and remains sector agnostic.
Our fixed-fee proposal explains scope, intended use, responsibilities, timing and VAT treatment before work starts. A free introductory conversation does not commit you to an engagement.
Not sure what information you need? Try the free valuation readiness scorecard to organise your starting questions. It is a planning aid, not a valuation.