Business Valuations

Yes it is. We have been involved in transactions for the sale of sole practitioner law firms on numerous occasions and whilst they are not for everybody the firms do still have a value.

A couple of things you could consider doing to increase the chances of sale:

a) convert your business into a limited company and b) make sure there are other fee earners in the business as well as yourself.

Both easier said than done, but the limited company point is particularly important. It is much easier for a buyer to purchase a limited company than it is to take over a sole practitioner’s business - if you are a limited company the buyer can simply enter into a Share Purchase Agreement and become or appoint a director.

If possible, have a think about converting, although we would usually recommend taking the usual tax and legal advice to ensure that this is the solution for you.

In summary - yes sole practitioner SRA regulated law firms do have a value and it is possible to sell them, but they are harder than other entities to sell - usually because the business will lack specific assets (eg other fee earners) rather than because you are a sole practitioner per se.

You need to get a full valuation from us in order to answer this question. Click here to request a quote. Our valuations are extremely detailed and include advice on improving value and saleabilty of your business.

Business value tends to be the number one question for just about everyone running a law or accountancy business. If the business is sold as a going concern, what is it worth? You can leap into an internet rabbit hole and start reading about complicated equations and multipliers affecting particular industries or professions. There are so many ways of valuing a business, in particular law firms, that most of the figures based on formulae that professional advisers come up with will contradict a lot of other valuations.

Accountancy firms are fairly simple - there tends to be a very easy valuation technique that works well for most and the industry seem to accept it as the norm. This is to calculate your gross recurring fees and multiply them by a factor. This does very much depend on the quality of the gross recurring fees - obviously 300 recurring fees from clients aged 92 are not going to be worth as much as 300 recurring fees from clients aged 32!

Law firms unfortunately have no such easy solution when it comes to valuations. At varying times we are able to spot a trend - but this depends very much on the market conditions. Sometimes figures plummet to very little indeed, but we do usually recommend ignoring the copious articles available on the web advising sellers that their practices are not worth anything at all. If you look at who writes the articles it does tend to explain why someone would write this (the authors tend to be linked to buyers!).

Of course there is an old saying - valuation is vanity, sterling is sanity. Beware the business broker bearing gifts of ridiculously high valuations to flatter you into giving them business. Contact us today to request a quote for a market valuation.

Owners of law firms and accountancy practices can be assured that any data sent to Jonathan Fagan is kept highly confidential. We never release any information about your business without your express consent in every circumstance and we do not divulge any detail to third parties. The only information ever disclosed to buyers about sellers is the paragraph of information displayed on our website. Anything else requires the specific consent of the seller.

All buyers and sellers sign a non-disclosure agreement at the start of the process and we renew these with potential buyers every 12 months.

We are Cyber Essentials accredited. Our sister companies Ten-Percent.co.uk Limited and TP Transcription Limited are Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 accredited respectively. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office as data controllers.

Our IT system is constantly updated, our computers are protected by a high spec Draytek firewall and Panda anti-virus software, and our website is protected by security software.

Jonathan Fagan Business Brokers Limited is part of the Ten Percent Group of websites, which include legal & financial recruitment services.

No, I am afraid not.

Slightly longer answer here: https://jonathanfagan.co.uk/a-business-broker-has-told-me-that-my-sme-law-firm-is-worth-3-times-turnover-is-this-true/

Please get in touch for an impartial valuation based on real life figures and market rates.

We have been working with UK law firms and accountancy practices of all shapes and sizes on recruitment and business sales for over 20 years. The information we give in relation to values of businesses is very specific to our experiences of previous and current deals and is always tailored to an individual business. Our specialist valuation services are available on a standalone basis or as part of our seller packages. Unlike other brokerage services we are specialists for law firms & accountancy practices and we offer transparent fee structures for buyers and sellers alike. We want to help you achieve a satisfactory deal.