Business valuation for the purpose of divorce

Appointed as single joint expert in matrimonial proceedings to value a marketing consultancy business owned largely by the husband and numerous unrelated minority shareholders. Also instructed to comment on the taxation implications of a sale or transfer of shares, the liquidity of the company and the level of the husband’s sustainable remuneration.

The company was a relatively recent start-up demonstrating rapid growth in both turnover and profitability. We spent time understanding the business and the market in which it operates as well as its budgeting acumen in order to best determine the future prospects of the company. This involved reviewing the historic trading of the business and testing the robustness of cash flow forecasts. We also investigated the valuation at which recent shareholdings were purchased in order to give context to our conclusions.

The report was accepted by both parties to the divorce with no questions being asked.