# Business Valuation Cost

> What a UK business valuation costs and why: the purpose sets the scope, the scope sets the fee. Tax, sale, divorce and probate valuations are different products.

## Key facts

- 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).

## Key pages

- [What does a business valuation cost in the UK?](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [What drives a business valuation fee, and why so few firms publish a price](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/what-drives-a-business-valuation-fee/): 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](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/hmrc-share-valuation/): 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](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/valuation-for-divorce-and-shareholder-disputes/): 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](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/formal-valuation-vs-free-appraisal/): 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.
- [Company valuation calculator: what a multiple can and cannot tell you](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/company-valuation-calculator/): Why an online company valuation calculator returns a number you cannot use, what industry multiples are, and what a formal valuation adds that arithmetic does not.
- [What sets the fee for a UK business valuation, by purpose](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-15.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- What sets the fee for a UK business valuation, by purpose. Methodology: This table publishes no fee range for business valuations, deliberately. There is no statutory or professional fee scale in the UK and valuation work is priced per engagement after scoping; the starting fees firms publish themselves are in our fee index, and they describe very different engagements. 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.
- Last updated: 2026-08-15. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: gov.uk, HMRC. Shares and assets valuations for tax: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/shares-and-assets-valuations-for-tax
- Source: gov.uk, HMRC. Get a share scheme valuation from HMRC (EMI VAL231, SIP VAL230): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-a-share-scheme-valuation-from-hmrc
- Source: gov.uk, HMRC. Shares and assets valuations: enquiries: https://www.gov.uk/find-hmrc-contacts/shares-and-assets-valuations-enquiries
- Source: gov.uk, HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG59540: unquoted shares, market value rule: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-gains-manual/cg59540
- Source: gov.uk, HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG59561: is a valuation required?: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-gains-manual/cg59561
- Source: gov.uk. How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax and report its value: https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died
- Source: Ministry of Justice. Civil Procedure Rules Part 35: experts and assessors: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part35
- Source: RICS. Valuation standards, including RICS Valuation Global Standards (Red Book): https://www.rics.org/profession-standards/rics-standards-and-guidance/sector-standards/valuation-standards
- Source: ICAEW. Valuation Community: https://www.icaew.com/technical/corporate-finance/valuation

## Citation

Cite as: "What sets the fee for a UK business valuation, by purpose", Business Valuation Cost, https://businessvaluationcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15).

## About

- Business Valuation Cost is a free introduction service. We pass your details to at most three 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.
- Operated by businessvaluationcost.co.uk. Contact: enquiries@businessvaluationcost.co.uk