London has the deepest and most competitive market for accountancy practices in the UK — and the highest costs, from City-fringe office rents to the salaries needed to hold good staff. Many capital practice owners reach a point where the grind of running a firm in London outweighs the rewards, whether that’s retirement, a lifestyle move out of the city, or simply wanting to step back. If you own a practice in London or the surrounding commuter belt, we buy directly — no broker, no listing, and complete discretion in a market where word travels fast.
Why sell your practice directly
We’re a direct buyer, not a broker. You deal with the decision-maker, keep the process confidential, avoid broker commission, and shape the deal around your timeline rather than a broker’s calendar. There is no listing your practice around the market and no parade of tyre-kickers — just a grown-up, private conversation. The full comparison is in our guide to broker vs direct.
Does a London cost base reduce what your practice is worth?
UK practices are usually valued on a multiple of gross recurring fees rather than profit, because owner-managed profit is distorted by how the owner pays themselves. Our valuation guide puts the range for general practice at broadly 0.8× to 1.2× GRF, with weaker firms below that and high-quality fee blocks attracting 1.3× or more.
Because that multiple is applied to fees, a London practice is not punished for City rents and London salaries in the way a profit-based multiple would punish it. What genuinely moves the number is the shape of the fee base: how much of it is truly recurring, how concentrated it is in a handful of clients, and how much of it depends on you personally rather than on the firm.
| What we look at | Why it matters in London |
|---|---|
| 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 is a negotiating point, not a blocker — it can be assigned, sublet or run down. |
| How the team works | London teams are frequently hybrid. We keep working patterns rather than reset them. |
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?
A confidential call, an indicative valuation range, light-touch due diligence, heads of terms, then completion and a protected handover. The detail is on our sell your practice page, and you can get an instant indicative figure from the valuation calculator.
What London owners usually want to know first
- Can I sell without my staff or clients hearing about it? Yes — nothing is listed or circulated.
- What happens to my office lease? It is dealt with in heads of terms, not left as a surprise.
- 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 honestly, and you will hear why the number is the number.
Whether you are ready now or simply mapping out the next few years, a first conversation about selling your London practice is confidential and commits you to nothing.
Ready for a confidential conversation?
Wherever your practice is, you deal directly with the buyer — confidentially, and on your timeline.
Book a confidential call