Succession and continuity
Understand where customer relationships, approvals, expertise or delivery depend on an owner. The financial analysis should reflect what is needed to maintain the business.
Business Valuation Surrey | Consult EFC
Understand the financial performance, the owner’s role and the rights behind a potential sale or shareholder decision.
Consult EFC supports Surrey businesses and shareholders with purpose-specific commercial valuations. Work directly with an ICAEW Chartered Accountant through a remote-first process, with scope, fixed fee and timing agreed for your needs.
The valuation brief
A Surrey business valuation assesses the specified company or interest using the evidence, basis and date relevant to the decision. For an owner-managed business, client concentration, recurring work, cash generation and owner dependence can be as important as the headline profit.
The owner’s question
Understand where customer relationships, approvals, expertise or delivery depend on an owner. The financial analysis should reflect what is needed to maintain the business.
For a service business, examine contract terms, repeat revenue, project margins, concentration and the cost of serving clients. Repeat work is not automatically contracted recurring revenue.
Identify the shares, voting, dividend, transfer and other rights. A small percentage interest may need a different analysis from the whole company.
Maintainable performance
Owner-managed accounts may include unusual items or arrangements that need context. Assess any proposed adjustment against supporting records, the ongoing operating model and the cost of replacing the owner’s work.
Customer concentration, short notice periods, unbilled work and collection patterns can change the financial risk. A familiar relationship may still require evidence of contracts, repeat activity and the resources needed to deliver it.
The purpose is to explain the evidence, rather than automatically remove costs or apply a premium for every attractive feature. A report should make the main sensitivities visible.
Explore the detail
Enter illustrative assumptions for earnings, a multiple, cash and debt. This is a simplified relationship, not an estimate of your company’s value or a recommended multiple.
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 |
|---|
Prepare for the next chapter
A valuation can identify what supports the conclusion and where the evidence is weaker. If a sale is not imminent, those findings can inform a practical preparation plan around reporting, management depth, contracts and cash visibility.
Preparing the business does not guarantee a higher price. Timing, performance, buyer appetite and terms still matter. Exit planning can be scoped separately where you want a broader roadmap.
For the report and independence approach, see independent business valuation. If you are ready to explore an active transaction, review business sale advisory.
An accessible working process
We begin with the business, valuation purpose, ownership interest, relevant date and intended users. Recent accounts, current trading information and relevant documents follow through an agreed transfer process.
Remote meetings support businesses across Surrey. Any in-person arrangements are agreed for the engagement. Your proposal sets out the fixed fee, VAT treatment, deliverables, responsibilities and timetable, so the work is concrete before you instruct us.
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 Surrey owners, shareholders and management teams through an agreed valuation brief and remote-first process, with meeting arrangements confirmed for the work.
We can consider a suitable brief, examining performance, client relationships, contracts, delivery costs, management capacity, cash and owner dependencies.
It can be relevant evidence, but repeat work, contracted revenue and guaranteed future income are different things. Terms, retention, margins and delivery requirements need assessment.
Yes, subject to purpose, rights and information. The articles, shareholder agreement, voting, dividend and transfer terms need to be reviewed. A simple pro-rata percentage may not be appropriate.
It can inform a defined commercial planning decision. Legal arrangements, personal tax, estate planning and implementation need appropriately engaged specialists.
A valuation explains the agreed analysis and conclusion. A wider readiness plan or implementation programme can be scoped separately where helpful.
No. The evidence required depends on the business and purpose. We agree any visit, inspection or specialist input rather than assume it is included.
An initial conversation can establish the brief and likely information needs. The proposal and fixed fee follow sufficient understanding of the scope; confidential information is shared 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.