A Sydney practice that values businesses, and does nothing else.
We prepare independent valuation reports on private businesses, company shares and trust units for owners, accountants and lawyers in Sydney and across New South Wales. People come to us when a figure has to be believed by someone else: a buyer, a departing partner, the other side of a dispute, a revenue office or a court.
- Office
- 32 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000
- Operated by
- Valuation Group Pty Ltd
- Fee
- Fixed, in writing, before work starts
One signs it. Another checks it first.
The valuer responsible for your job prepares the report and puts their name to it. Before it is issued, a second business valuer with suitable qualifications reads it against the evidence: does the method fit this business, can each figure be traced to a document, would the conclusion make sense to someone buying in this market. Nothing is issued without that second read.
Each report carries the name of the valuer who signs it, for example Jackson Wilson: B.Bus (Finance) · Diploma of Financial Services · RG146 · Disruptive Strategy (Harvard Business School Online)
Seven rules we work to.
- 01Your fee is fixed for the agreed scope before any work starts, and the result cannot change it.
- 02We decline any job that asks us to arrive at a figure chosen beforehand.
- 03We do not also act as your broker, your tax agent or your auditor.
- 04The report says which methods were looked at, which one was used and why.
- 05Where something could not be checked independently, the report says so.
- 06Questions of law are left to lawyers and to the courts.
- 07Working papers are kept for ten years, so a question asked later can still be answered.
Our reports follow the guidelines of APES 225 Valuation Services, the valuation standard issued by the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board for members of the professional accounting bodies. The practice is not a member of those bodies. It follows the guidelines by choice.
The people and the company behind the name.
Business Valuations Sydney is part of Valuo, a group of specialist valuation practices, and is operated by Valuation Group Pty Ltd. Our valuers have prepared business valuations since 2014.
- Operating company
- Valuation Group Pty LtdABN 48 702 469 252 · ACN 702 469 252
- Sydney office
- 32 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000Meetings are by appointment. Most valuations are completed from your records and a call, wherever in Sydney or New South Wales the business trades.
- [email protected]
- Family law
- A valuation for a separation or for family law proceedings is prepared by our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations (familylawvaluation.com.au).
How the number is built.
Open any heading for the detail. An owner can skip this part and lose nothing.
Which method, and why
The method follows from the business and the evidence available, and the report gives the reason for the choice.
For an established, profitable business. We work out the earnings it can keep producing, after taking out one-off items and putting the owner’s pay on a market footing, then apply a multiple that reflects its risks and the prices paid for comparable businesses.
For a business whose next few years will not look like its last few: one that is growing fast, changing shape or built on technology. Forecast cash flows are brought back to today at a rate that reflects how certain they are.
For a business whose value sits in what it owns, or one whose earnings are too thin or too erratic to rely on, including one that has stopped trading.
Sale prices and industry multiples, used as a cross-check or as the main method, and always adjusted for how this business differs in size, growth, risk and dependence on its owner.
The records a valuer reads
The published accounts are where the work begins, not where it ends. A valuer reads the business the way a careful buyer would, from source records:
- ·Financial statements and tax returns, usually for the last three years, and current management accounts
- ·The general ledger, payroll and loan accounts where a figure needs explaining
- ·The company constitution or trust deed, the share or unit register and any shareholders agreement
- ·Leases, franchise agreements, licences and the main customer and supplier contracts
- ·A breakdown of sales by customer, and any budgets or forecasts
Valuing one parcel of shares
A 30% shareholding is not always worth 30% of the company. Where the job calls for it we value the parcel itself: the votes and dividends it carries, whether it gives control, what the constitution and any shareholders agreement say about transfers, how easily it could be sold, and any loans between the company and the holder.
If the matter may reach a court
Our fixed-fee report is written for advice, negotiation and settlement. It is not an expert witness report. Evidence for a court or tribunal is a separate engagement with its own scope and fee, agreed in writing beforehand, and an expert report has to meet the rules of the court it is prepared for.
The parts of a report
A report on a company usually runs in this order:
- 1The instructions and the purpose
- 2The valuation date
- 3The interest being valued
- 4The basis of value
- 5Ownership and structure
- 6The business and its market
- 7Financial performance
- 8The balance sheet
- 9Adjustments to earnings
- 10Maintainable earnings
- 11The method and why it was chosen
- 12Market evidence
- 13Risks specific to the business
- 14Enterprise value
- 15Debt and surplus assets
- 16Equity value
- 17The value of the interest
- 18Sensitivities
- 19Limits and qualifications
- 20The conclusion and the valuer’s declaration
Four steps to an engagement.
- 1Write to usUse the form on this page. A valuer replies within one business day.
- 2A short callAbout fifteen minutes, to settle what is being valued, at what date, for what purpose and by when.
- 3Your fee in writingA fixed fee for that scope, before you commit to anything. It does not depend on the value, on a deal going ahead or on a tax outcome.
- 4The engagement letterIt records the scope, the fee and who may rely on the report. Work starts once you accept it.
Where the rules on this page come from
This page describes the rules in general terms. It is not legal, tax or duty advice: your lawyer or accountant advises on how a rule applies to you.
- ·APES 225 Valuation Services, Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board
- ·APES 225 Valuation Services, revised October 2024 (the standard itself), Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board
Ask a valuer
Tell us about the business.
A few lines is enough. A valuer replies within one business day with the package that fits, your fixed fee in writing and a delivery date.
Small Business Valuation
$1,495 + GST
The package for turnover below $2 million: a signed report in 2 business days. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.
Larger than that? The fee steps up with turnover. See every fee