London practices carry high fixed costs, from City-fringe office rents to the salaries needed to keep good staff. Owners sell for different reasons: retirement, a move out of the city, or wanting to step back from running a firm. If you own a practice in London or the surrounding commuter belt, we buy directly and keep the sale confidential, which matters in a market where word travels fast.

Selling to a direct buyer

Practice Group buys practices itself, so you deal with the people who make the decision. The sale stays confidential, you pay no broker commission, and the timetable is set around yours. Our guide to broker vs direct compares the two routes in full.

Does a London cost base reduce what your practice is worth?

UK practices are usually valued on a multiple of gross recurring fees (GRF). Profit is a poor guide in an owner-managed firm, because it depends on how the owner pays themselves. Our valuation guide puts the range for general practice at broadly 0.8× to 1.2× GRF. Weaker firms sell below that range, and high-quality fee blocks attract 1.3× or more.

Because the multiple is applied to fees, City rents and London salaries do not come off the price the way they would under a profit-based method. The number moves with the shape of the fee base: how much of it recurs, how much of it sits with a handful of clients, and how much of it depends on you personally.

Recurring fee percentage: Rent and salaries are fixed and monthly. Recurring fees are what covers them.
Client concentration: Capital practices often carry a few large clients, sometimes from a single sector.
Office lease and remaining term: A lease can be assigned, sublet or run down. Which of those happens is agreed in the negotiation.
How the team works: London teams are frequently hybrid. We keep the working patterns your team already has.

Where in London and the South East do you buy?

Across the City and all 32 London boroughs, and out into the commuter belt — Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. First meetings can be in central London, at your own office, or entirely by video if that is more discreet.

How does the process work?

The sale starts with a confidential call. We then give you an indicative valuation range, carry out light-touch due diligence and agree heads of terms with you, and completion is followed by a protected handover. Each stage is explained under selling your practice, and the valuation calculator gives you an instant indicative figure.

You can book a first call with us now, whether you plan to sell this year or in a few years’ time.

Questions London owners ask first

Can I sell without my staff or clients hearing about it? Yes. The sale stays between you, us and your advisers until you agree how to tell them.
What happens to my office lease? It is settled in heads of terms.
Do I have to stay on? A clean break and a phased step-down are both possible.
Will the fee base be picked apart? It will be reviewed, and we explain how we reached the figure.

Sell your accountancy practice in London

Selling to a direct buyer

Does a London cost base reduce what your practice is worth?

Where in London and the South East do you buy?

How does the process work?

Questions London owners ask first

Talk to us about your London practice

Helpful guides