Free Business Valuation
Free, Confidential Business Valuation for UK SME Owners
An indicative, written valuation range delivered personally by Tony Vaughan. Two to three week turnaround. No obligation. No broker referrals. No follow-up pressure.
Most UK SME owners spend years thinking about what their business is worth before they ever act on it. That thinking phase is where the best outcomes are quietly made. The owners who plan into the gap between curiosity and transaction consistently realise more value, more cleanly, than the owners who close the gap with a phone call to a broker. The free business valuation exists to give that thinking phase real structure: an honest, evidence-based indicative range, delivered personally, with no obligation and no embedded sales process.
What you get
A written indicative valuation range, typically three to five pages. Covering the normalised earnings analysis, the sub-sector multiple and the comparable transaction evidence behind it, and a one-page commentary on the main drivers and drags that explain where in the range your business sits. The document is yours, confidential, and useful as a planning tool whether you act on it next week or in three years.
The methodology is identical to what we use for fixed-fee formal reports. The difference is depth: an indicative valuation does enough analysis to land within 10% to 15% of a formal report for most UK SMEs, which is the right level of accuracy for planning. It is not enough to satisfy HMRC, courts, trustees or sophisticated buyers. Those audiences require a signed formal report, which is a separate, fixed-fee engagement.
Who it's for
UK SME owners thinking about a future trade sale, Employee Ownership Trust, management buy-out, family succession or shareholder event. Owners exploring whether the business will support their planned retirement number. Shareholders wanting a benchmark before negotiating a buy-out. Founders curious whether their growth trajectory has moved the value materially since the last time they looked. Anyone whose primary need at this stage is information, not a transaction.
How it works
Step one is a two-minute enquiry form. Step two is a 20 to 30 minute discovery call, held by Tony Vaughan personally. No juniors, no scripts. Step three is a document review under mutual NDA, taking one to two weeks. Step four is the written indicative range and a 30-minute follow-up call to talk through the document. The full cycle is two to three weeks end to end. The fuller walkthrough lives on the how the free valuation works page.
Independence and confidentiality
BusinessValuation.co.uk does not take commission from buyers, brokers, lenders or any other transaction counterparty. The free valuation is not a lead-generation mechanism for an M&A brokerage. We don't run one. Your details are not shared with third parties, your accounts are held on UK-based encrypted infrastructure for the duration of the engagement only, and there is no follow-up sales sequence. Most owners who take a free valuation file it and revisit it 12 to 24 months later. That is the expected pattern.
When to upgrade to a formal report
The free indicative valuation is a thinking tool. The moment real money is on the table. An HMRC submission, an EOT or MBO transaction, a shareholder buy-out, a divorce settlement, a probate filing, a fundraising round, or an actual sale process. You need a written, signed formal report. The methodology is the same; the deliverable is heavier, the evidence base is fuller, and the report is built to withstand scrutiny from the third party who will rely on it.
Free business valuation FAQ
The questions UK SME owners ask most often before requesting a free indicative valuation.
Is the free business valuation really free?
Yes. The indicative valuation, the discovery call and the written summary are delivered without charge and without obligation. A fixed-fee formal report is only ever proposed if you ask for one or if your situation requires HMRC, court or trustee-grade evidence.
How is the free valuation different from a calculator?
A calculator applies an average sector multiple to a self-reported earnings figure and outputs a number in seconds. A free indicative valuation normalises three years of your actual earnings, selects a sub-sector multiple from recent comparable UK private-company transactions, adjusts for your specific drivers and drags, and produces a reasoned written range. The difference in accuracy and usefulness is enormous.
Who delivers the valuation?
Tony Vaughan personally. Founder of BusinessValuation.co.uk and director of Exit Partners Limited, with 2,500+ business value appraisals. There are no junior associates, no offshored analysts and no account managers between you and the work.
What do I need to provide?
Two to three years of statutory accounts, your most recent management accounts, a current-year forecast if available, and a short summary of your business. Everything is shared under mutual NDA, all working files are held on UK-based encrypted infrastructure, and nothing is retained beyond the engagement.
How long does it take?
Two to three weeks from initial enquiry to written indicative range. The discovery call is usually scheduled within five working days, document review takes one to two weeks, and the written summary follows within a few days.
Will I be pestered with follow-up sales calls?
No. Every engagement is direct with Tony Vaughan. There is no marketing automation, no sales development team, and no addition to any third-party mailing list. Most owners who take a free valuation file it and revisit it 12 to 24 months later, that is the expected pattern, not an exception.
When should I upgrade to a paid formal valuation?
Any time a third party will rely on the number. HMRC, courts, EOT trustees, lenders, co-shareholders or buyers. An indicative valuation is a planning tool. A formal report is a piece of evidence. Both are useful; they do different jobs.
Why offer this for free?
A small number of owners who receive an indicative valuation later commission a formal report or a value-driver engagement, and that is enough to cover the cost of providing the free service to everyone else. There is no other catch. We do not take broker commission, we do not sell software, and we do not share your information.
Start with a free, confidential indicative valuation
Direct with Tony Vaughan. Two to three week turnaround. No obligation, ever.