Fixed-fee valuations of branding, design, content and video production studios.

A creative studio is valued on the maintainable profit from its client work, adjusted for how much of that work repeats and how much depends on the founder's name. Branding, design, content and video businesses are usually project-led, so repeat clients, content retainers and any licensing income carry weight, alongside the studio's equipment and the copyright it can show it owns. Agency Valuations prepares an independent written report at a fixed fee: $1,495 + GST for studios turning over under $2 million, delivered in 2 business days.

How is a creative agency or studio valued?

Most branding, design, content and video businesses are valued on capitalised maintainable earnings. We adjust your accounts to what a new owner could expect to keep earning: the founder or creative director's pay is reset to a market wage for the role, one-off jobs and costs are separated out, and freelancer and crew costs are matched to the projects they served.

For equipment-heavy studios, such as video production houses, we also look at the market value of the cameras, lighting, sound and edit gear, net of any finance owing. If the earnings do not support more than that, the business is worth roughly its equipment, and the report says so plainly.

Why is project work harder to value?

Creative income tends to arrive in lumps: a rebrand one year, a campaign shoot the next. A single strong year can flatter the numbers, so we look at at least three years and at who the clients were. A studio whose clients come back year after year is worth more than one that must win every job from scratch, even at the same average profit.

Roster and panel places with brands or government buyers are tested against the work they actually produced, because a place on a panel does not oblige anyone to brief you. Ongoing content, social or brand-guardianship retainers are treated as recurring income when they are under a written agreement with a notice period.

What moves a creative studio's value up or down?

• ·Repeat clients: how much of each year's income came from clients who had briefed the studio before.
• ·Retainers: ongoing content, social or brand work under signed agreements, with term and notice.
• ·Founder dependence: whether clients hire the studio or the person whose name is on the door.
• ·Freelancer and crew margins: the gross profit left after directors, editors, photographers and other contractors are paid.
• ·Client concentration: the share of gross profit from the largest client and from the top five.
• ·Production work in progress: shoots booked, deposits held and costs already incurred at the valuation date.
• ·Owned assets: equipment and its condition, and any library of footage, images or templates the studio owns and can license.

Who owns the creative work?

This matters more for creative studios than for almost any other agency. Under the Copyright Act, work an employee creates under their employment belongs to the employer, but work made by a freelancer belongs to the freelancer unless it has been assigned, and an assignment of copyright has no effect unless it is in writing and signed. An assignment can also be limited, for example to a territory or a period of time.

Most client contracts hand the final artwork or footage to the client. What the studio keeps, such as rejected concepts, raw footage, type, templates and stock libraries, depends on its contracts with clients and freelancers. Licensing income is valued when the studio can show clear title; a licence the studio has granted also binds anyone who later acquires the copyright, so a buyer takes the studio's assets subject to those licences.

What happens to value when the founder is the brand?

Many studios are built on one person's eye and reputation. If clients brief the studio because of that person, a buyer is paying for relationships that may not stay once the founder steps back, and the value reflects it. The risk eases when other creatives already lead accounts, when clients deal with more than one person, and when the founder agrees to stay through a handover period.

Where some of a sale price will depend on clients staying, the valuation can show the value on stated assumptions so both sides understand what each payment is for. We value the business; we do not structure or negotiate the deal.

When do creative studio owners need a valuation?

• ·Selling the studio, merging with another, or testing an offer.
• ·Buying into or buying out a studio.
• ·A partner or shareholder exit under your shareholders agreement.
• ·Staff equity for senior creatives, where shares or options need a market value under the employee share scheme rules.
• ·Restructures and related-party transfers, where tax law looks to market value.
• ·Small business CGT concessions, where market value is needed for the asset threshold tests.
• ·CGT reform: from 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships is replaced by cost base indexation and a 30% minimum tax for gains accruing after that date, so a valuation at 30 June 2027 may be useful.
• ·A dispute between owners, where an expert report is needed.

What do we need from you?

• ·Financial statements for the last three years and year-to-date management accounts.
• ·Revenue and gross profit by client and by job for three years, with retainers marked.
• ·An equipment list with age, condition and any finance owing.
• ·Sample client contracts and freelancer agreements, including their IP clauses.
• ·Jobs in progress at the valuation date: value, amount billed, deposits held and costs to date.
• ·Any licensing income, with the rights behind it.
• ·Owner salaries, personal costs run through the business, and your shareholders agreement.

How much does a creative agency valuation cost?

Fees are fixed and set by your studio's total annual turnover, excluding GST. A Small Business Valuation is $1,495 + GST for turnover under $2 million, delivered in 2 business days. A Medium Business Valuation is $2,495 + GST for $2 million to $3 million, and a Large Business Valuation is $3,495 + GST for over $3 million to $10 million, each delivered in 3 business days. Above $10 million the fee is quoted in writing before work starts, with the delivery date agreed before commencement. An expert report for a dispute or court is $4,495 + GST, with the delivery date agreed before commencement. Each extra past valuation date is $495 and each additional entity is $795. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received.

Every report follows the guidelines of APES 225 Valuation Services and is signed by a suitably qualified business valuer. We value studios; we do not broker or sell them.