The 15-Minute Valuation vs the 15,000 Valuation: What You Actually Get
A chartered accountant charges 10,000 to 20,000 for a formal valuation opinion. Our calculator gives you 80 per cent of the same analysis in 15 minutes, for free.
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A chartered accountant will charge you £10,000 to £20,000 for a formal valuation opinion. Our calculator gives you 80 per cent of the same analysis in 15 minutes, for free. Here is exactly what each one produces, where they overlap, and where they differ.
Business owners face an uncomfortable gap in the market. On one side, there are free online calculators that ask four questions and give you a number with no explanation. On the other side, there are chartered accountants and corporate finance firms that charge five figures for a formal valuation opinion and take four to six weeks to deliver it.
There is almost nothing in between. No tool that gives you genuine analytical depth without requiring you to spend £15,000 before you have even decided whether to sell.
We built our valuation calculator to fill that gap. Not to replace professional advice, but to give every business owner access to the same analytical framework that a corporate finance team uses, at no cost, in the time it takes to drink a coffee.
This article explains exactly what you get from each approach, so you can decide which one you need right now.
What a £15,000 Formal Valuation Produces
A formal valuation opinion from a chartered accountant or corporate finance firm (typically a member of the ICAEW, ICAS, or ACCA) typically includes:
A detailed EBITDA bridge. Starting from your statutory accounts, the accountant works through every line item to identify legitimate add-backs (above-market owner remuneration, one-off costs, personal expenses, related-party adjustments) and deductions (non-recurring revenue, below-market rents from related parties, costs that have been deferred but will materialise). The result is a "maintainable earnings" figure that represents what the business would earn under normalised ownership. The ICAEW's quality of earnings framework governs this process.
Three to five years of financial analysis. Not just the current year, but the trend. Revenue growth, margin progression, working capital movements, capital expenditure requirements, and cash conversion. The accountant is looking for consistency, trajectory, and red flags.
A comparable transactions analysis. The accountant identifies completed transactions in your sector and size bracket, extracts the multiples paid, and uses them to benchmark your business. This requires access to deal databases (such as Experian MarketIQ, MergerMarket, or PitchBook) which cost £5,000 to £50,000 per year in subscription fees, and the professional judgement to select relevant comparables and discard irrelevant ones.
A qualitative assessment. The 30 factors that move the multiple: customer concentration, contract quality, key-person risk, management depth, market position, and growth potential. This is typically based on interviews with the owner and a review of management information.
A formal opinion letter. A document that the accountant stands behind professionally, that can be relied upon by third parties (banks, shareholders, HMRC), and that carries professional indemnity insurance. If the valuation is wrong, the accountant is liable.
Timeline: Four to six weeks. Cost: £10,000 to £20,000 for a business with £1 million to £10 million of revenue.
What Our Free Valuation Calculator Produces
Our calculator produces a 10 to 12 page report that includes:
An indicative EBITDA bridge. Based on the revenue and profit figures you provide, plus the add-back questions we ask (owner salary, one-off costs, personal expenses running through the business), we calculate an indicative adjusted EBITDA. We cannot verify these numbers without seeing your accounts, but we can show you the methodology and flag where a formal review would likely adjust them.
A 30-factor quality assessment. Across six categories (financial quality, commercial durability, operations and systems, people and key-person risk, accreditations and compliance, market position and growth), we assess your business against the factors that buyers actually test during due diligence. Each factor is scored and weighted according to its importance in your specific sector. For the full list, see our article on the 30 things that determine what a buyer will pay.
A sector-specific multiple range. Based on your sub-niche (we cover 85 sub-niches across building services, healthcare, and professional services), we apply a multiple range derived from completed transactions and adjust it based on your factor scores. The result is not a single number but a range that reflects where your business sits on the quality spectrum. For sector-specific context, see our guides to fire safety, HVAC, electrical, security systems, and compliance testing multiples.
Three timing scenarios. What the business is worth if you sell now, what it would be worth in twelve months with no changes, and what it could be worth in twelve months with targeted preparation. The "prepare" scenario identifies the specific workstreams (reducing owner dependency, improving contract coverage, documenting processes) that would move the multiple.
A business optimisation plan. Twenty specific workstreams, prioritised by impact and effort, that would increase the value of your business before a sale. Each workstream is tailored to your sector and your current position.
Timeline: 15 minutes of your time, report delivered within 24 to 48 hours. Cost: Free.
Where They Overlap
Both approaches assess the same fundamental question: what would a willing buyer pay a willing seller for this business, assuming both parties are informed and neither is under duress? This is the standard definition used by HMRC for capital gains purposes and by the International Valuation Standards Council.
Both consider earnings quality, growth trajectory, customer concentration, key-person risk, and market position. Both produce a range rather than a single number. Both acknowledge that the final price depends on the specific buyer, the competitive tension in the process, and the deal structure.
The analytical framework is the same. The difference is in the depth of verification and the legal standing of the output.
Where They Differ
Verification. A chartered accountant will review your actual accounts, bank statements, and management information. They will verify that the numbers you have told them are correct. Our calculator takes your inputs at face value. If you tell us your revenue is £3 million and your profit is £500,000, we build the valuation on those numbers. We cannot verify them without seeing the source documents.
Comparable transactions. A formal valuation will include specific comparable transactions with deal values, multiples, and dates from databases like Experian MarketIQ or MergerMarket. Our calculator uses sector-specific multiple bands derived from our advisory team's experience and publicly available transaction data, but we do not (yet) name specific comparables in the report.
Legal reliance. A formal valuation opinion can be relied upon by banks (for lending decisions), shareholders (for disputes), and HMRC (for tax purposes, including Business Asset Disposal Relief). Our report is explicitly not a formal valuation opinion. It is indicative analysis to help you plan. You cannot submit it to HMRC as evidence of market value for BADR purposes.
Professional liability. If a chartered accountant's valuation is negligently wrong, they carry professional indemnity insurance and you have legal recourse. Our report carries no such liability. It is a planning tool, not a professional opinion.
Which One Do You Need Right Now?
Use our free calculator if:
You are in the early stages of thinking about an exit and want to understand the ballpark. You want to know what factors are driving your value up or down. You want a roadmap of what to work on before engaging a formal advisor. You want to have an informed conversation with your accountant rather than starting from zero. You want to compare what your business is worth today versus what it could be worth with twelve months of preparation.
Engage a formal valuation if:
You are actively going to market within the next three to six months. You need a number for a shareholder dispute or divorce settlement. You need to satisfy HMRC for tax planning purposes (Business Asset Disposal Relief, capital gains calculations). You are negotiating with a specific buyer and need a defensible position. You have complex corporate structures, multiple entities, or unusual circumstances that require professional judgement.
The smart sequence:
Most of the business owners we work with use our calculator first, then engage our advisory team for a discovery call, and then commission a formal valuation as part of the sale preparation process. The free report gives them the context to have an intelligent conversation. The discovery call surfaces the nuances that no form can capture. The formal valuation is produced as part of the mandate, funded by the eventual success fee, not as an upfront cost.
You can see this process in action in our case studies: how a celebrant training business sold for £1.1M and how an HR services business sold to a serial acquirer.
The Real Question Is Not "How Much Is My Business Worth?"
The real question is: "How much could my business be worth, and what would I need to do to get there?"
A formal valuation tells you what the business is worth today. Our calculator tells you what it is worth today and what it could be worth with targeted preparation. That second number is almost always more valuable than the first, because it gives you a decision framework: is the gap between "now" and "prepared" large enough to justify waiting twelve months?
For most businesses we assess, the answer is yes. The gap between selling unprepared and selling after twelve months of focused work is typically 20 to 50 per cent of enterprise value. On a £3 million business, that is £600,000 to £1.5 million of additional value created by preparation, not by trading. Our article on why the business you built the hard way is the one acquirers pay most for explores this dynamic in detail.
That is the insight that no sixty-second calculator can provide, and that no £15,000 formal valuation is designed to deliver. It sits in the gap between them. And it is free.
Start your free valuation — 15 minutes, completely confidential, no obligation. Or score your exit readiness in six minutes.
DealFlowAgent is a specialist M&A advisory firm for owner-led businesses in building services, facilities management, healthcare, and professional services. We help owners understand what their business is worth, prepare it for sale, and run a competitive process that maximises value. Book a confidential call or start your valuation now.
Experienced Dealmakers Lead Your Exit
A senior M&A bench, plus a sector specialist recruited for your industry on every deal.
Head of M&A
Joining 22 August 2026, name announcing soon
Joining full-time on 22 August 2026 from the largest M&A advisory firm in the UK, owned by K3 Capital. As an ex-Director he managed teams of M&A advisors, analysts and associates, working daily with business owners, buyers and stakeholders on live acquisition deals. Selected from 260 applicants alongside colleagues from investment banking backgrounds, he brings that experience and network to lead the advisory bench across Building Services, Facilities Management, and Healthcare.
Joining full-time on 22 August 2026 from the largest M&A advisory firm in the UK, owned by K3 Capital. As an ex-Director he managed teams of M&A advisors, analysts and associates, working daily with business owners, buyers and stakeholders on live acquisition deals. Selected from 260 applicants alongside colleagues from investment banking backgrounds, he brings that experience and network to lead the advisory bench across Building Services, Facilities Management, and Healthcare.
Martin is one of the most well-connected figures in UK fire, security, building services and FM. He is Chairman of both the Fire Industry Association and the British Security Industry Association, the only person in the UK to hold both roles simultaneously. Martin spent over a decade in senior leadership at Mitie, latterly as Industry Liaison Director for its fire and security division, helping scale the business past £500m in revenue and playing a role in the £366m acquisition of Marlowe plc, which created one of the UK's largest compliance, fire and security services groups. He joined DealFlowAgent because owners in these sectors deserve a genuine sector-specialist advisor across valuation, business optimisation and buyer access. In recognition of his industry roles, he acts in a personal, non-partisan capacity.
Martin is one of the most well-connected figures in UK fire, security, building services and FM. He is Chairman of both the Fire Industry Association and the British Security Industry Association, the only person in the UK to hold both roles simultaneously. Martin spent over a decade in senior leadership at Mitie, latterly as Industry Liaison Director for its fire and security division, helping scale the business past £500m in revenue and playing a role in the £366m acquisition of Marlowe plc, which created one of the UK's largest compliance, fire and security services groups. He joined DealFlowAgent because owners in these sectors deserve a genuine sector-specialist advisor across valuation, business optimisation and buyer access. In recognition of his industry roles, he acts in a personal, non-partisan capacity.
Nick leads FM Talent Partners, the facilities management and real estate leadership search firm, and is a leading specialist in building services and FM management talent. He partners with DealFlowAgent on two-way referrals: helping business owners and acquirers fill the key roles that decide whether a business is sellable, and introducing owners who are thinking about their next chapter to a team that knows their industry and their market. Key-person dependency is one of the two most common reasons a sale collapses, and Nick fixes it at source.
Nick leads FM Talent Partners, the facilities management and real estate leadership search firm, and is a leading specialist in building services and FM management talent. He partners with DealFlowAgent on two-way referrals: helping business owners and acquirers fill the key roles that decide whether a business is sellable, and introducing owners who are thinking about their next chapter to a team that knows their industry and their market. Key-person dependency is one of the two most common reasons a sale collapses, and Nick fixes it at source.
James Duboullay
Senior M&A Advisor
- •25+ years across investment banking, M&A and fundraising
- •Sector focus: essential services and software
- •Long-standing relationships with private equity buyers and growth funds
- •Personally advising DealFlowAgent founders for the past four years
- •25+ years across investment banking, M&A and fundraising
- •Sector focus: essential services and software
- •Long-standing relationships with private equity buyers and growth funds
- •Personally advising DealFlowAgent founders for the past four years
Emerson Patton
Sector Specialist: Building Services & Facilities Management
- •20+ years advising owners in building services, fire safety, HVAC, plumbing, and construction
- •Guided 200+ companies through growth, profit improvement, and exit planning
- •Builds equity value and operational structure long before a sale
- •Partners with DFA to prepare owners for exit while the advisory team runs the sale
- •20+ years advising owners in building services, fire safety, HVAC, plumbing, and construction
- •Guided 200+ companies through growth, profit improvement, and exit planning
- •Builds equity value and operational structure long before a sale
- •Partners with DFA to prepare owners for exit while the advisory team runs the sale
Kaya Kesici
M&A Advisor, Fire Safety, Security & Compliance
- •17 completed M&A transactions over the past six years across UK SME fire safety, security and compliance-led services
- •Sell-side and buy-side experience, buyer research, acquirer mapping, outreach and live process coordination
- •Information request lists, databook prep, IC-style summaries and EV-to-equity bridge work
- •Direct sector exposure across fire protection, security systems, CCTV, access control and intruder alarms
- •17 completed M&A transactions over the past six years across UK SME fire safety, security and compliance-led services
- •Sell-side and buy-side experience, buyer research, acquirer mapping, outreach and live process coordination
- •Information request lists, databook prep, IC-style summaries and EV-to-equity bridge work
- •Direct sector exposure across fire protection, security systems, CCTV, access control and intruder alarms
Previously
Ranger Fire & Security · Complete Building Services · Compliance Group
- •22 completed M&A transactions
- •Direct relationships with hundreds of strategic and financial acquirers
- •Previously built a mobility and field services business to 30 staff and 6 UK warehouses, then sold via competitive process with an EY M&A partner
- •Raised £2m in funding; placed 3rd of 1,900 at OnStage (the "Y Combinator of Europe")
- •Full-stack developer of advanced agent systems and second-brain tooling for the M&A process
- •22 completed M&A transactions
- •Direct relationships with hundreds of strategic and financial acquirers
- •Previously built a mobility and field services business to 30 staff and 6 UK warehouses, then sold via competitive process with an EY M&A partner
- •Raised £2m in funding; placed 3rd of 1,900 at OnStage (the "Y Combinator of Europe")
- •Full-stack developer of advanced agent systems and second-brain tooling for the M&A process
Sector Expert
Industry-Specific Advisor
For every engagement we add a sector specialist from your industry to the core team: a 15–25 year operator or advisor with direct relationships in your niche. Recruited per deal so you get the right fit, not a generalist.
For every engagement we add a sector specialist from your industry to the core team: a 15–25 year operator or advisor with direct relationships in your niche. Recruited per deal so you get the right fit, not a generalist.
The bench is growing. Two senior M&A hires confirmed for late July 2026, selected from 200+ applicants out of Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, EY, KPMG and leading boutique M&A firms. See open roles →
The AI layer behind every advisor
Two in-house AI systems work alongside the human bench. They are software, not people, built and supervised by the advisory team.
Sage
AI Deal Concierge
Available 24/7. Monitors every signal in your deal and keeps the advisory team one step ahead. Trained on thousands of M&A transactions.
Sterling
Buy-Side Deal Origination Agent
Engages 13,000+ acquirers to surface live mandates and intent, then feeds your advisors with warm, ranked buyer matches.
The Exit Readiness Scorecard
Score your business across the factors acquirers underwrite, including key-person dependency, contract quality, customer concentration and earnings quality. Complete it below, print it, or download the PDF and work through it with your leadership team.
Watch the intro from our founder, Joe
Two minutes on how DealFlowAgent runs a confidential, competitive sale process for owners of building services, facilities management and healthcare businesses.
Joe Lewin
Exited entrepreneur and M&A advisor who has guided 20+ business owners through successful exits. Joe built and sold his first company after scaling to 80,000+ users and raised over £2M in funding. He founded DealflowAgent to combine traditional M&A expertise with AI technology, creating aligned advisory solutions for SME business owners. Joe regularly speaks on exit planning and M&A trends, and has built a network of thousands of strategic acquirers across UK and US markets.
What is your business actually worth?
Sector by sector benchmarks built from real completed transactions, with the valuation bands acquirers underwrite against.
- Fire Safety Business Valuation & EBITDA MultiplesWhat fire alarm, extinguisher, sprinkler and passive fire protection businesses sell for, band by band.
- Security Systems Business Valuation & EBITDA MultiplesCCTV, access control, intruder alarms and monitoring: the multiples acquirers are paying in 2026.
- Compliance, Testing & Inspection Valuation GuideWhy recurring statutory inspection revenue attracts the highest multiples in building services.
- Electrical Contracting Valuation & EBITDA MultiplesNICEIC, EICR and EV infrastructure: how electrical contractors are valued and sold.
- HVAC, Refrigeration & Cooling Valuation GuideService contract density, engineer retention and the multiples HVAC consolidators pay.
