Case Studies, for business valuation, not just company or business sale

Lawyer dealing with probate

We were approached by a law firm requesting an independent valuation of a business, as the owner had died and the lawyer needed the valuation for the purposes of applying for the grant of probate. We valued the company at £1.25m and provided a comprehensive report within four weeks of the initial request and just one week after having received all of the requested information. The valuation was based on a potential future company sale with the owner being replaced by his wife.

The initial enquiry provided us with the following information

The company name and address is C.C Ltd based in X
There was a property related to the business valued at £214k
There was one director – Mr P.
Mr P. is deceased, he was a 100% ‘A’ shareholder of 16,250 ‘A’ shares
His shares have passed to Mrs P. his wife
Mrs P. previously held 8,750 ‘B’ shares
The P’s son works in and manages the business
There are 5 employees
Mrs P. would like to retain the business and her management and staff continue to run the business, so not immediately look at a business sale
The business turnover was c.£1m in 2021
The business year end is March and the 2023 figures are not yet available
The value of the estate is unlikely to exceed the IHT threshold
A valuation is required to assess the value of the transferring shares

Franchise business wanting to sell

We were approached by two company directors of a business that was part of a national franchise. Another franchise owner located in the same county was coming close to retirement and wanted to sell his franchise to our clients.

They were keen to get an independent valuation of the business to allow them to negotiate a company sale and purchase price. They introduced us directly to the seller of the franchise and we provided them with a valuation report within 3 weeks of the initial contact.

Recruitment agency attracting investment

We were approached by the owner of a group of recruitment agencies based in the UK, India and Germany. They wanted to raise additional capital through external investors and needed to value the company to calculate an investment share price. We valued the businesses as a group and individually on the basis of a potential future company sale.

This was a particularly complex valuation as we needed to establish the accounting standards used in each jurisdiction, calculate three separate business valuations, including one start-up business with no audited or completed accounts and a complex share table. We provided the full valuation report within five weeks of the initial approach. The company is growing well and targeting a future business sale event.

Lawyer acting for a client in divorce

We were approached by a lawyer who was acting for a client in divorce and financial remedy proceedings. The husband owned a business in Birmingham which had recently been subject to a valuation, the parties had the below questions of the valuer that they were unable to answer:

i. How to market the shareholding for sale effectively (both on the basis he wishes to continue to work to some degree in the company and on the basis that he retires completely)

ii. The extent of the likely interest in that shareholding

iii. The timescale it is likely to require to achieve the value indicated in the valuation report.

We provided a valuation and report that answered the above questions.

A dispute between two business partners

A business owner contacted us through a referral to ask for our help in a business dispute that they were involved in. They were shareholders in a company and had a major fall out with their senior partner and fellow shareholder. This situation could not be settled amicably and so their partner decided to close down the business that they were both involved in and transfer the customers and assets to another company in just their own name.