Owner Valuation
Every serious decision about your business starts with a number you don't have yet.
Independent business valuation for UK owners. Excel model and written memorandum. Delivered in 2 working days. Built by a practising M&A analyst โ FMVA, CBCA โ with 30 years of UK deal experience across ยฃ5mโยฃ75m enterprise value.
The risk you're already carrying
You already have a number in your head.
That's the problem.
Owners don't avoid valuation because they don't care. They avoid it because it's awkward. You don't want to anchor your team to a figure you can't defend. You don't want to start an exit conversation before you're ready. You don't want to be talked down by a buyer who "knows the market."
So you carry a private number. It usually comes from a rule-of-thumb multiple, a competitor's rumoured sale, or what you'd like retirement to look like.
An unsolicited offer. A shareholder conversation. A refinance. A growth plan that needs capital. An exit timeline that suddenly feels close.
At that point, guessing becomes expensive. The gap between a mental number and a defensible one isn't academic โ it shows up directly in negotiation outcomes, missed exit windows, and decisions made on assumptions no one has tested.
Moments that make this urgent
- An unsolicited approach from a buyer
- A shareholder or co-founder conversation about value
- An exit timeline that has moved closer than expected
- A refinancing or capital raise that requires a valuation
- A board or investor discussion that will ask for numbers
The cost of not knowing
What an unmodelled valuation actually costs
The gap between a mental number and a defensible one has a price. It appears in three predictable ways.
You leave money on the table
An owner carrying a ยฃ3m number in their head accepts an offer at ยฃ2.8m because it feels close enough. An independent model might show maintainable earnings support ยฃ3.4m on conservative multiples. That's a ยฃ600,000 gap โ invisible until someone builds the model and makes the assumptions explicit.
You reject a good offer for the wrong reason
You turn down ยฃ4m because your mental number is ยฃ5m. But your mental number includes a revenue line that's customer-concentrated, a salary cost below market, and working capital that flatters the cash position. A normalised model might show that ยฃ4m is a strong offer โ and walking away costs you the exit window.
You walk in without a defensible position
Whether it's a buyer, a lender, a co-shareholder, or an investor โ the first question is always "how did you arrive at that number?" If the answer is a multiple you heard someone use, the conversation goes against you immediately. A model with visible assumptions and tested sensitivities changes the dynamic entirely.
The service
What we actually do
We take the information you already have โ accounts, management numbers, and a short commercial picture โ and build an independent valuation model that makes the assumptions visible and the logic defensible. Every figure in the memorandum is supported by the model. Every assumption can be interrogated.
No optimistic assumptions. No guaranteed price. No regulated advice. An independent sanity check โ so the next conversation you have is based on numbers that can survive scrutiny.
Independent Valuation Memorandum
A presentation-grade PDF โ built for boardrooms, lender meetings, shareholder discussions, and buyer negotiations. This is the document you put in front of people who make decisions. It explains the value range, the key drivers, the sensitivities, and the logic in plain language.
Plain-English Narrative
A written report covering the valuation methodology, the adjustments, the risk factors, and the decision points โ so you can use it in real conversations without needing to interpret a spreadsheet.
Locked Excel Model
Clear inputs. Normalised earnings. Sensitivity toggles. Explicit assumptions you can interrogate. The model supports every figure in the memorandum and stands on its own as a working analytical tool.
Premium upgrade: Unlocked Excel model โ full access to assumptions, formulas, and scenario inputs so you or your team can run your own sensitivities. Additional fee confirmed on discovery call.
What this looks like in practice
Two owners. Two different outcomes โ both better for knowing.
An owner approached by a trade buyer. Turnover ยฃ4.2m.
The owner's number was ยฃ3m โ a rule-of-thumb multiple a contact in the same sector had mentioned. The buyer's opening offer was ยฃ2.4m. The owner felt lowballed but had no model to counter with.
When we normalised the earnings โ correcting the below-market salary to a commercial replacement cost, removing non-recurring project income, and adjusting working capital timing that was flattering the cash position โ defensible EBITDA came back at ยฃ510,000, not the ยฃ620,000 implied by the accounts.
But the model also showed that on an appropriate sector multiple โ supported by comparable transactions โ the defensible valuation range was ยฃ2.8m to ยฃ3.2m. The buyer's opening offer was below the floor.
The owner presented the memorandum, showed the assumptions, and renegotiated.
Total time from engagement to report: 2 working days
An owner planning an exit within 18 months. Turnover ยฃ7.5m.
The owner was carrying a valuation of ยฃ6m from a conversation with their accountant two years earlier. They were about to engage a sell-side adviser at that expectation.
The independent model revealed two issues. First, 38% of revenue was concentrated in a single customer โ a risk factor that would suppress any buyer's multiple. Second, the owner was drawing a salary ยฃ85,000 below market rate for a replacement managing director. Once that cost was normalised, maintainable EBITDA dropped from ยฃ780,000 to ยฃ640,000.
The adjusted valuation range was ยฃ3.5m to ยฃ4.2m โ materially below the owner's expectation.
That was uncomfortable. But it gave the owner 18 months to act on it: diversify the customer base, hire a commercial manager to reduce key-person risk, and re-test the valuation before going to market.
Total time from engagement to report: 2 working days
See what you actually receive
The memorandum and model,
in the format you'll use them.
A redacted sample of the Independent Valuation Memorandum delivered to clients. All data is fictitious. The working model delivered to clients contains full assumptions, scenario toggles, and sensitivity analysis specific to the target business.
The sample gives an indication of the format and depth of analysis included in every engagement.
Download sample memorandum (PDF)Pricing
Fixed fees.
No surprises.
A fixed fee means you know the cost before you commit โ no hourly billing, no scope creep, no invoice you didn't expect. The scope and fee are confirmed in full on the discovery call. The clock starts when payment is received and all required documents are in.
We price by turnover because it's the simplest proxy for the scope of work. Every engagement delivers the same output: Independent Valuation Memorandum, written report, and locked Excel model.
- Independent Valuation Memorandum
- Written report
- Locked Excel model
- 2 working day delivery
- Independent Valuation Memorandum
- Written report
- Locked Excel model
- 2 working day delivery
- Independent Valuation Memorandum
- Written report
- Locked Excel model
- 2 working day delivery
- Independent Valuation Memorandum
- Written report
- Locked Excel model
- Fee confirmed before engagement
How it works
Four steps.
Two working days.
The clock starts when your documents land.
Every engagement follows the same sequence. You know what to send, when it starts, and when it delivers โ before you commit.
15โ20 minutes. NDA if needed. We clarify what the valuation needs to do โ offer evaluation, exit planning, funding preparation, shareholder alignment, or board reporting. If it's a fit, we lock the engagement and scope.
You receive a tight document list. You send what you already have โ accounts, management numbers, commercial overview. The clock starts when payment is received and all required documents are in.
We normalise maintainable earnings, correct add-backs and adjustments, apply appropriate valuation methodologies, and make every assumption visible. The model is built from your specific data โ not from a template.
You receive the Independent Valuation Memorandum (presentation-grade PDF), the written report, and the locked Excel model โ with clear assumptions, sensitivities, and decision points ready to use in the next conversation.
Why owners use this
Why this โ and why now
"An independent model removes the most dangerous risk in any business valuation: modelling the outcome you want rather than the outcome the earnings support."
Your accountant could attempt a valuation. Some do. But accountants are trained to prepare accounts โ this is deal modelling. The skill sets, the outputs, and the purpose are different. The typical route is hourly billing, open-ended timescales, and a deliverable that wasn't built for a buyer's scrutiny or a lender's questions. We charge a fixed fee and deliver in 2 working days.
Because we work on live M&A transactions continuously, we know what buyers are currently paying, what multiples the market supports, and what lenders are looking for right now. That live market context isn't something you get from a desktop exercise or a two-year-old conversation with an adviser who isn't on active deals.
And there's the objectivity question. When it's your business, it's very easy to model the outcome you want rather than the outcome the earnings support. That's not a failing โ it's human. An independent model removes that risk.
Let me be direct about what this service is, and what it isn't.
I'm Mark Ross Roberts. I run Achieve Corporation. I'm a practising M&A analyst โ not a consultant who does valuations occasionally, and not a firm that delegates work to junior staff. I build these models for real deals. This valuation service is an extension of exactly what I do when I'm preparing a business for a full sale mandate: normalise the earnings, test the assumptions, and produce a document that can survive a buyer's due diligence.
Credentials: FMVA and CBCA certified through the Corporate Finance Institute. 30 years of UK mid-market deal experience across ยฃ5mโยฃ75m enterprise value.
The difference is simple: you get a model and a memorandum built by someone whose only interest is giving you the accurate picture โ not selling your business, not earning a commission, and not telling you what you want to hear.
Built for owners who'd rather know
Who this is for โ
and who it isn't.
Owners planning an exit (6โ36 months out)
You want a real baseline before engaging an adviser, approaching buyers, or setting expectations with family, shareholders, or the board. Know the number before you commit to a process built around it.
Owners who've received an offer
You need to know whether the number on the table is fair, low, or better than you think. The answer changes what you do next โ whether that's negotiating, walking away, or accepting quickly before circumstances change.
Owners considering funding, de-risking, or growth
A defensible valuation underpins investor conversations, refinancing, shareholder buyouts, and any decision that puts a price on the business. A model your finance director can interrogate is different from a number you produced yourself.
Owners who need board-ready or partner-ready numbers
You need a model your finance director can interrogate and a memorandum your co-shareholders can read without a translator. The memorandum is built to be used in those conversations directly.
If you want a rubber-stamp valuation to justify a number you've already decided, this isn't the right service. If you want someone paid on commission for the outcome, we're not that firm.
This is for owners who want to know the real number โ even if it's not the one they were hoping for.
Before you engage
Questions owners ask before they commit
Book a free discovery call
Bring whatever you already have.
We'll tell you if it's enough.
If you've had an offer, you're planning an exit, or you're making a decision that puts a price on your business โ accounts, management numbers, an offer letter, questions. In 15โ20 minutes, we'll confirm whether this valuation is the right tool for your situation, what documents we'll need, and whether the 2 working day turnaround works for your timeline.
No obligation. No sales pressure. NDA if needed.
15โ20 minutes ยท No obligation ยท NDA available
