Most buyers keep their numbers to themselves until you're months into a process. We'd rather you knew where you stand before the first call. Here is how we value professional services firms — openly.
We value firms as a multiple of gross recurring fees (GRF) — the income that repeats each year: accounts, tax, payroll, ongoing retainers. For firms that fit our platform, that multiple is typically 1.3–1.6x, which sits in the upper part of the UK market range.
Why publish it? Because we're building a long-term platform, not hunting bargains — and because the founders we want to work with value straight talk over negotiation theatre.
The range is real, and firms land within it for reasons. These are the five that matter most:
Diversified fees hold their value. If one client is more than about 10% of income, buyers price the concentration risk — reducing it before a sale pays for itself several times over.
Under-priced legacy clients drag the multiple down, because the buyer inherits the repricing. Firms charging market rates — and demonstrating clients accept them — support the top of the range.
Cloud-native firms transfer in weeks; server-and-paper firms take quarters and real money. This is the single most controllable driver — moving to a modern stack before sale is usually worth more than it costs.
A capable manager tier that owns client relationships makes the firm transferable — and the price reflects it. A firm that is entirely the founder is a job, priced accordingly.
A structured, unhurried handover protects the client relationships being bought. Founders who can stay through a sensible transition — even part-time — support both the price and the earn-out.
A typical Practice Group deal pairs a meaningful completion payment with deferred consideration over one to three years, measured on fee retention — the thing you can actually influence — with carve-outs for what you can't (clients who die, sell up, or are resigned by us).
Equity options are available for founders who want ongoing participation in the platform rather than a pure cash exit.
Every mechanic is explained in full before heads of terms. If any buyer — including us — can't explain a clause in plain English, don't sign it.
