UK business valuation guides from Assetica, covering limited companies, EMI and EIS/SEIS shares, and founder or investor valuations.
UK valuation work follows different conventions from the UAE, and an owner moving between the two usually needs both. This category covers valuing a UK limited company: what the market approach means where transaction evidence is thinner than people assume, how minority holdings are discounted for the absence of control and of a market, and what a report has to contain to be useful to a buyer, a lender or HMRC. Assetica works both sides from its London and Dubai offices, which matters most when the same shareholding has to be reported to a UK authority and a UAE one on the same underlying facts.
How do you value a UK limited company?
The same way as anywhere: normalise the earnings, apply an income approach and a market approach, reconcile them, then adjust for net debt and working capital. What changes in the UK is the evidence base. Comparable private transaction data is thinner than people assume, so the report has to be explicit about where its multiple came from.
Do I need a UK valuation if I have moved to Dubai?
Often yes, and sometimes two. A UK company still has UK reporting and tax obligations, and residency or Golden Visa applications in the UAE need evidence formatted for the authority reading them. The important thing is that both rest on the same normalised earnings and the same valuation date.
How are minority shareholdings valued?
A minority holding is worth less than a pro rata share of the whole, for two separate reasons. A minority discount reflects the absence of control, and a discount for lack of marketability reflects the absence of a buyer on demand. The size of each depends on the rights in the articles and the shareholders agreement, which is why those documents are read first.
Assetica is an independent business valuation firm in Dubai. We do not audit and we do not broker deals, so the number carries no conflict. Book a scoping call or see the core business valuation service.