Business Valuation Statistics: UK 2025

Knowing your business's worth gives you a strategic advantage. However, as economic changes occur, markets shift, and industries evolve, the methods, challenges, and opportunities surrounding business valuation are becoming more complex. Leaders know this, but their viewpoints certainly differ, and their level of preparedness does, too.

To determine current opinions on business valuations, we leveraged AI-driven audience profiling to synthesise insights to a high statistical confidence level. This allowed us to evaluate data from 118,511 UK business leaders spanning 12 months, ending 14th April, 2025, to learn more about the overall sentiments, stances, and concerns. Here's what we discovered:

Index

• 94% of UK business leaders say the quality of their financial reporting is generally reliable
• 77% of business leaders have a documented long-term growth strategy
• Attracting investors the reason behind 59% wanting to increase their business's value
• Lack of investor interest the biggest challenge for 89% wanting to increase business value
• Growth capital would help 86% increase their business value
• 58% would invest in sales and marketing first to boost business value
• 44% of leaders review current business value only when selling
• Degrees of importance of succession planning differ by 20%
• 45% of UK businesses are prepared for due diligence or formal valuation processes
• For 41% business leaders, team and leadership influence company value
• 64% track financial metrics the most closely
• 58% UK business leaders most familiar with asset-based valuation
• Methodology

How Would You Describe The Quality Of Your Financial Reporting?

94% of UK business leaders say the quality of their financial reporting is generally reliable

It's clear that the majority of UK business leaders express the same sentiments about financial reporting quality:

94% of UK business leaders rate the quality of their financial reporting as generally reliable, while in comparison, only 6% say theirs is highly accurate and timely. It's perhaps not surprising, then, that the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) Annual Review of Corporate Reporting for 2023/24 found that while the quality of reporting among FTSE 350 companies has been maintained, there's a growing gap in reporting quality between these larger firms and other listed companies, including those on the AIM market and large private companies.

The FRC also expressed concerns about the financial reporting standards of smaller listed companies, noting that issues such as impairment of assets and cash flow statements were prevalent. These deficiencies were significant enough in some cases to potentially affect the companies' ability to distribute profits.

While most of our audience of UK business leaders believe their financial reporting is generally reliable, the stark gap in accuracy and timeliness aligns with the ongoing concerns raised by the FRC.

How Clearly Is Your Long-Term Growth Strategy Defined?

77% of business leaders have a documented long-term growth strategy

Planning for long-term growth varies between business leaders:

Despite economic challenges, Lloyds Banking Group says that seven in ten UK businesses expect their turnover to increase in the next year. For business leaders, having a long-term growth strategy to capitalise on this is essential, and of our audience, 77% have planned accordingly by documenting theirs. Another 12% say that their long-term growth strategy is very clear; however, 11% say theirs is only mostly clear, revealing that not everyone is as prepared as they could be.

This highlights a critical gap. While optimism is high, truly capitalising on future growth opportunities depends on turning strategic intent into clearly defined, actionable plans.

What Is Your Main Reason For Wanting To Increase Your Business's Value?

Attracting investors the reason behind 59% wanting to increase their business's value

Business leaders have differing reasons for wanting to increase their organisation's value:

Studies have found that one in five SME owners in the UK plan to sell all or part of their business within the next two years. Therefore, increasing the current value is a crucial concern for many. Of our audience, 59% cite attracting investors as their main reason for wanting to increase their business's value, while 33% say that they want to do so to improve their market position.

Just 5% say preparing for sale is their main motivation, and only 3% say long-term planning is theirs. Considering we saw that 77% of business leaders have a documented long-term growth strategy, it's interesting to note that so few directly link that strategy to a future sale or succession plan.

What Is The Biggest Challenge You Face In Increasing Your Company's Value?

Lack of investor interest the biggest challenge for 89% wanting to increase business value

Increasing business value is not without stumbling blocks:

For our audience of 118,511 UK business leaders, it's evident there are two main challenges for increasing company value.

A resounding 89% say that lack of investor interest is one, while not knowing value drivers is a stumbling block for the remaining 11%. Interestingly, economic factors are not mentioned directly here, despite the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting that, as of early March 2025, 29% of UK trading businesses reported that economic uncertainty was impacting their turnover, making it the most frequently cited challenge since October 2022. Additionally, for businesses with 10 or more employees, the cost of labour was the most reported challenge, with 37% identifying it as a significant issue.

This suggests that while economic uncertainty and rising labour costs weigh heavily on UK businesses at large, for our audience, the primary barriers to increasing company value lie in more internal and strategic challenges.

What Would Help You Most In Raising Your Business's Value Today?

Growth capital would help 86% increase their business value

Business leaders identified a few key factors that would assist in increasing their organisation''s value:

While our audience cited different factors that would help to boost their business's value, it was clear that having access to growth capital was the preferred type of support for 86%. A strong leadership team garnered 6% engagement, while guidance from a consultant was just behind at 5%.

Reliable financial reporting came in last with only 2%, which aligns somewhat with our earlier finding that 94% of business leaders already rate the quality of their financial reporting as generally reliable, so this isn't a growth factor.

Which Part Of Your Business Would You Invest In First To Grow Its Value?

58% would invest in sales and marketing first to boost business value

Opinions vary on what part of a business would take priority when investing to enhance value:

58% of our audience says they'd prioritise investing in sales and marketing to boost business value, and 35% say leadership and talent would be where they'd put their money. This shows that while many businesses look to outside value-enhancers, many also put a lot of stock in their employees and recognise the immense value they can add when their talents are nurtured.

In contrast, only 5% say they'd focus on investing in operational efficiency, 1% in product and service development, and less than 1% in data and financial systems. This distribution indicates that most UK business leaders see growth and value creation as being driven primarily by external visibility and people power, while the other factors are seen as foundational or longer-term investments rather than immediate value drivers.

How Often Do You Review The Current Value Of Your Business?

44% of leaders review current business value only when selling

The timing of reviewing business value fluctuates based on different factors:

Research shows that around 33% of UK business owners are unaware of the value of their company at any given time, and that the European average is even higher, at 40%. This aligns somewhat with our data, which revealed that for our audience, 44% only knew the current value of their business when they were selling.

However, 31% said they checked every quarter, 16% biannually, and 10% annually. This suggests that while a proactive minority regularly assesses their company's value, a significant portion still takes a reactive approach, waiting until a major event like a sale to determine their position.

How Important Is Succession Planning To Your Valuation Strategy?

Degrees of importance of succession planning differ by 20%

Succession planning is important for all UK business leaders, but to different degrees:

Every one of our 118,511 UK business leaders agrees that succession planning is important for a valuation strategy, but opinions differ on just how important it is.

There's an even 20% split across five varying degrees of importance, ranging from extremely important to very important, somewhat important, important, and slightly important. This even spread suggests that while succession planning is unanimously acknowledged as a key component of a valuation strategy, there's no clear consensus on its weight relative to other value drivers.

How Prepared Is Your Business For A Formal Valuation Or Due Diligence Process?

45% of UK businesses are prepared for due diligence or formal valuation processes

Some businesses are more prepared than others to begin the sale process:

While our data shows that 44% of our audience only knew what the current value of their business was when they were selling, everyone is, to some degree, ready for a formal valuation or to begin the due diligence process.

45% say they are prepared, 10% say they are fully prepared, while those who are somewhat prepared and mostly prepared make up the remaining 46%. While proactive valuation habits may be lacking, it's obvious that most UK business leaders recognise the importance of being sale-ready.

Which Of The Following Has The Most Influence On Your Company's Value?

For 41% business leaders, team and leadership influence company value

There are clear ideas of what business leaders believe affects their company value:

41% of our audience believe that team and leadership impact their business most, aligning closely with the 35% who said they'd prioritise investing in leadership and talent to grow value. Following closely behind were the 40% who say that their intellectual property holds the most value, while 19% said that revenue and profitability were the most influential. This reinforces that for many UK business leaders, people and ideas—not just profits—are the true drivers of value.

Which Financial Metric Do You Track Most Closely?

64% track non-specific financial metrics

Keeping tabs on financial metrics is crucial for business leaders, with some being prioritised over others:

Expert accountants emphasise the importance of tracking key performance indicators such as gross and net profit margin and cash flow to ensure a business's financial health. 64% of our audience says they do this by closely monitoring their financial metrics. The remaining 36% specified exactly which metrics they watch the most intently, with 18% saying they watch EBITDA, 8% revenue growth, and 7% net profit margin.

Just 2% say cash flow is what they watch most closely, which is interesting as cash flow is often cited as one of the most critical indicators of a business's short-term viability. This could reflect confidence in current cash reserves or, conversely, a potential blind spot in managing working capital.

Which Valuation Method Are You Most Familiar With?

58% UK business leaders most familiar with asset-based valuation

Valuation methods may apply on an industry basis, but some are better known than others:

There are different ways to value a business, but for our audience, 58% are most familiar with asset-based valuations and 27% with discounted cash flow. Far behind this are 11% who are most familiar with market comparables as a valuation method, and 5% with earnings multiples.

This distribution indicates that business leaders tend to gravitate towards more straightforward and tangible valuation methods rather than more options that require a deeper understanding of market trends and industry-specific factors.

Overall, the data shows that business valuation in the UK is shaped by various factors that directly impact a company's potential for growth. In the last year, business leaders have increasingly focused on strategic investments, with a clear emphasis on people, leadership, and financial health as key drivers of value.

As challenges such as attracting investor interest persist, the need for tailored strategies and proactive valuation practices has never been more critical. Conclusively, businesses aligning their long-term growth plans with solid financial reporting and a strong leadership team are better positioned to unlock their true value in 2025 and beyond.

Methodology

The data in this article was sourced from an independent sample of 118,511 UK business leader responses from X, Quora, Reddit, TikTok and Threads. The responses are collected within a 65% confidence interval and a 6% margin of error. Engagement estimates how many people in the location are participating. Demographics are determined using many features, including name, location and self-disclosed description. Privacy is preserved using k-anonymity and differential privacy. Results are based on what people describe online — questions were not posed to the people in the sample.

About the representative sample:

• Only 20% of UK business leaders are under the age of 44.
• 57% identify as male and 43% as female.