Independent valuations of agencies, rent rolls and client books.

What do we value?

Agencies and client-book businesses, where most of the value sits in recurring relationships rather than in equipment or stock. A whole agency, shares or units in one, or a rent roll or book on its own:

• ·Real estate agencies and rent rolls
• ·Rent rolls on their own
• ·Commercial and holiday rental rent rolls
• ·Strata management businesses
• ·Buyers agencies
• ·Insurance brokerages and underwriting agencies
• ·Mortgage broking books
• ·Financial advice practices
• ·Marketing, digital and creative agencies
• ·Recruitment and labour hire businesses
• ·Travel agencies
• ·Customs brokers and freight forwarders

We value. We do not broker, list or sell agencies, rent rolls or books, and we give no advice on whether to buy, sell or invest. We hold no Australian financial services licence and give no financial product advice.

How does an engagement work?

1. 1Tell us what needs valuingSend the form or call. Tell us what is being valued (a whole agency, shares in it, a rent roll or a book), why, and by when. No documents are needed to start.
2. 2A fixed fee, in writingWe confirm the package, the fee and the delivery date in writing before any work starts. The fee is set by the annual revenue of what is being valued, and it never depends on the value we reach.
3. 3Your documentsYou send the documents on the checklist for your kind of agency: financial statements, the client or management ledger, revenue by source and anything that affects whether that revenue will stay.
4. 4The analysisWe normalise the earnings, test the quality of the revenue, consider the methods that fit and conclude on a value and a supportable range.
5. 5A written reportYou receive a written report you and your advisers can rely on, delivered within the time for your package. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Fees are published: $1,495 + GST where the annual revenue of what is valued is under $2 million (2 business days), $2,495 + GST from $2 million to $3 million (3 business days) and $3,495 + GST from $3 million to $10 million (3 business days). Above $10 million the fee is quoted in writing before work starts. An expert report for a dispute or court is $4,495 + GST. See the full price list.

What does a valuation of an agency look at?

Two agencies with the same revenue can be worth very different amounts. The difference is in how secure that revenue is and who it depends on:

• ·Revenue quality: how much of the income is recurring (management fees, renewals, trail, retainers) and how much is one-off (sales fees, placement fees, project work), and how each has moved over time.
• ·Retention and concentration: how long clients, landlords or policyholders tend to stay, and how much of the revenue sits with a handful of them.
• ·People: how much of the revenue depends on the owner or one or two key people, and whether the relationships would survive a change of hands.
• ·Earnings: normalised earnings: owner salaries set at market rates, one-off items removed, related-party arrangements adjusted to arm’s length, each adjustment explained.
• ·Agreements and rules: management agreements, client contracts, supplier and network agreements, and the licensing and trust account rules that apply to the agency type.
• ·The interest being valued: whether it is the whole agency, a rent roll or book on its own, or a parcel of shares or units, and what that means for value.

Which methods do we use?

The method follows the agency and the evidence. Every report says which methods were considered, which one was chosen and why.

What is in the report?

1. 1Purpose, valuation date, basis of value and intended use
2. 2An overview of the agency or book, its revenue mix and its ownership
3. 3Normalised earnings, with each adjustment explained
4. 4Revenue quality: recurring and one-off income, retention, and client and supplier concentration
5. 5The methods considered, the method chosen and why, and cross-checks
6. 6A concluded value and the range around it
7. 7Key assumptions, limitations and an independence statement

Every report is signed by a suitably qualified business valuer and follows the guidelines of APES 225 Valuation Services. What our report includes, section by section.

What do we stand for?

Read how we protect our independence on every engagement in our independence statement.