Illustrative Scenario — Not an Actual Client

A Professional Services Partnership Restructuring Equity

The Situation

A professional services firm with four equity partners is bringing in two new partners and restructuring equity splits. The outgoing and incoming partners need an independent valuation of the practice to agree a fair buy-in and buy-out price — and with the CGT changes ahead, the partners also want the valuation to hold up as a defensible cost-base reference.

The Approach

A capitalised maintainable earnings valuation, normalising for owner remuneration and one-off items, cross-checked against comparable professional services transactions. Working directly with the partnership’s accountant to agree the earnings base before finalising the methodology.

The Outcome

A single, independently prepared number that both outgoing and incoming partners accepted as the basis for the buy-in/buy-out — avoiding a protracted negotiation over value, and giving the partnership a documented reference point for future CGT purposes.