Fees and scope
What does a business valuation cost?
There is no fee scale, because there is no single product. A one-page indicative figure for a curious owner, a formal report HMRC will accept, and an expert report that survives cross-examination are three different pieces of work with three different liabilities attached. The purpose sets the scope, and the scope sets the fee. Tell us why you need the valuation and relevant firms will quote you for that specific job.
90 days
how long an HMRC-agreed EMI share valuation stays valid from the date of agreement
4 weeks
HMRC Shares and Assets Valuation's stated target to reach an agreed valuation once it has your request
1 year
deadline to report an estate's value on form IHT400 where Inheritance Tax is owed, before probate can be granted
What happens next
- Tell us the purpose, the output you need and the shape of the business. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to relevant valuation firms and accountants, and to no one else.
- They scope the work and quote you a fee for that specific job. You compare, ask questions, or do nothing.
Business Valuation Cost is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We pass your details to relevant valuation firms and accountants, who contact you directly with their own fees. We may receive a fee from those providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We do not produce valuations, we are not affiliated with HMRC, ICAEW, RICS or the Ministry of Justice, and nothing on this site is tax, accounting or legal advice. Statutory and HMRC figures are quoted from the official sources cited, with the date those sources give.
What sets the fee for a UK business valuation, by purpose
Last updated
Firms quote on scope, and scope follows purpose. This table sets out what each common purpose requires the valuer to do, who ultimately reads the report, and the factors that move the fee for that purpose.
We publish no fee range for business valuations, deliberately. There is no statutory or professional fee scale in the UK, valuation work is priced per engagement after scoping, and any range we printed would be a guess dressed as data. What can be stated accurately is what changes the amount of work, so that is what this table records. The purpose, output and reader columns are drawn from the requirements set out in the sources cited on this page: HMRC's guidance on shares and assets valuations for tax and on share scheme valuations, HMRC's Capital Gains Manual on unquoted share valuation, gov.uk guidance on valuing an estate for Inheritance Tax, and Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules on expert evidence. We do not publish valuation multiples or rules of thumb, because published multiples are marketing, not evidence, and using one on a specific company is how owners arrive at a number no buyer, court or inspector will accept.
| Purpose | What the valuer has to satisfy | Who reads it | What moves the fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale or purchase of a business | A negotiating position that survives buyer due diligence | You, and eventually a buyer's advisers | Quality of the accounts, normalisation adjustments, customer concentration, whether the owner is the business |
| EMI or other share scheme options | A value HMRC's Shares and Assets Valuation team will agree, proposed on the prescribed form | HMRC, then your scheme administrator | Share class rights, restrictions affecting market value, and the fact that an agreed EMI valuation lapses after 90 days |
| Capital Gains Tax on unquoted shares | Open market value between a hypothetical willing seller and buyer, per HMRC's manual | HMRC, and possibly the tax tribunal | Minority versus controlling holding, information available to a hypothetical buyer, and whether a valuation is required at all |
| Probate and Inheritance Tax | A defensible date-of-death value for the estate return, within the statutory reporting deadline | HMRC and the personal representatives | Number of holdings, business relief questions, and property held inside the company |
| Divorce or financial remedy | An opinion that meets the duties of an expert to the court, usually as a single joint expert | The court and both parties | Court permission and directions, liquidity and extraction questions, and time in meetings of experts |
| Shareholder dispute or unfair prejudice | An expert opinion that survives cross-examination and the other side's expert | The court, both parties, both experts | Disclosure disputes, valuation date arguments, discounts for minority holdings, and hearing attendance |
| Raising finance or internal planning | A basis a lender or board will engage with | A lender, a board, or you | Forecast quality, scenario work, and whether a range is acceptable instead of a point value |
- There is no statutory or professional fee scale for business valuation in the UK: fees are quoted per engagement after scoping, and the purpose of the valuation is what sets the scope.
- An EMI share valuation agreed with HMRC's Shares and Assets Valuation team is valid for 90 days from the date of the agreement (gov.uk, share scheme valuations).
- HMRC's Capital Gains Manual states that the market value of unquoted shares is the price expected in an open market sale between a hypothetical willing seller and a hypothetical willing buyer, and that valuing them is a highly technical matter requiring specialist knowledge (CG59540, updated 13 August 2026).
Cite this page
“What sets the fee for a UK business valuation, by purpose”, Business Valuation Cost, https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15). We publish no fee range for business valuations, deliberately. There is no statutory or professional fee scale in the UK, valuation work is priced per engagement after scoping, and any range we printed would be a guess dressed as data. What can be stated accurately is what changes the amount of work, so that is what this table records. The purpose, output and reader columns are drawn from the requirements set out in the sources cited on this page: HMRC's guidance on shares and assets valuations for tax and on share scheme valuations, HMRC's Capital Gains Manual on unquoted share valuation, gov.uk guidance on valuing an estate for Inheritance Tax, and Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules on expert evidence. We do not publish valuation multiples or rules of thumb, because published multiples are marketing, not evidence, and using one on a specific company is how owners arrive at a number no buyer, court or inspector will accept.
Worth knowing
Every figure sourced and dated.
What drives a business valuation fee, and why no firm publishes a price
Valuation fees are quoted per engagement because scope follows purpose. The variables that move the number, and how to get comparable quotes from two firms.
Valuations for tax: HMRC Shares and Assets Valuation, EMI and CGT
How HMRC handles share valuations: what SAV will and will not do, the 90-day EMI limit, form VAL231, post-transaction checks on CG34, and the four-week target.
Valuations for divorce and shareholder disputes: a different product
An expert valuation for court is governed by Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules: permission is required, costs must be estimated, and the expert's duty is to the court.
Formal valuation report or a broker's free appraisal: which you need
A free business appraisal and a formal valuation report are different products with different purposes and different liability. When each is the right thing to buy.
Common questions
How much does a business valuation cost in the UK?
There is no fee scale. Firms quote per engagement after scoping, because the purpose sets the amount of work: an indicative figure, a formal report for a sale, a valuation HMRC will agree and an expert report for court are four different products. State the purpose, the output required and what financial information exists to get comparable quotes.
What makes one business valuation more expensive than another?
Mainly the purpose and the audience, then the quality of the financial information, the structure of the business, whether it owns property that needs a separate surveyor's valuation, and whether the figure will be challenged by another party's expert. Disputed valuations add disclosure, meetings of experts and possibly a hearing.
Do I need a valuation for HMRC?
It depends on the transaction. HMRC's Capital Gains Manual states a valuation is not required merely because you are disposing of unquoted shares, and that there must be a statutory reason for using market value instead of the price paid. It is likely to be required for transactions not at arm's length, share reorganisations, negligible value claims and shares held on 31 March 1982.
Can HMRC give me a valuation of my company?
No. HMRC's Shares and Assets Valuation team values assets for other parts of HMRC and agrees or negotiates values that you propose. Its guidance lists quoted and unquoted shares among the things you cannot ask it to value for you. It also does not value UK land or buildings for tax; that is the Valuation Office Agency.
Why does this site not publish valuation multiples?
Because a published multiple summarises deals involving other companies, with different customers, contracts, margins and deal terms, and applying it to your company produces a number nobody is obliged to accept. HMRC's own manual describes valuing unquoted shares as a highly technical matter requiring specialist knowledge. We publish what moves the fee instead.
Is this quote service free?
Yes, free to you and with no obligation to instruct anyone. We pass your details only to relevant valuation firms and accountants, who contact you directly with a fee for the specific job. We may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded. We do not produce valuations and nothing here is tax or legal advice.