What your practice is worth. And what it would be worth with you taken out of it.
A fixed-fee assessment of an owner-led architecture practice using the Legacis Practice Value Score: what the practice is worth today, what it could be worth, and the five moves that close the gap.
Two valuations, a position and five moves
A score across five dimensions
Financial maturity, principal dependency, market position, succession and governance, strategic optionality. Built from eight lines of enquiry, each scored and each explained.
What the practice is worth today
A multiple of maintainable EBIT, between 2x and 5x, set by the score. Profit is restated to what a new owner would earn, with your own pay normalised to the cost of replacing you.
What it could be worth
The same practice valued again with the work done, and a bridge showing how much of the gain comes from a higher multiple and how much from higher earnings.
The five highest-value moves
Ranked by what each adds to the value, sequenced into a programme, with a clear test for when each one is done.
Your position against the sector
Where the practice sits against Legacis thresholds for architecture practices and, where the data allows, peers of its size, so the score means something outside your own four walls.
A 60-minute review call
With Andrew Hartshorn, to go through the report and what to do first.
See the report before you book
A full assessment of a fictional practice: the score, the valuation today and with the work done, the five moves and the programme to deliver them.
Weighted to where practice value is most often lost
The score sets the multiple, from 2x to 5x maintainable EBIT, specific to architecture practices.
Margins, recurring work, how the numbers are run.
How much of the practice leaves when you do.
Sector depth, reputation, the work you're invited to.
Whether there is a plan, and whether it would survive contact with a buyer.
The routes open to the practice, and which are real.
Two weeks, three steps
Data and interview
A short data request: three years of accounts, the fee book, team structure and ownership. Then a 90-minute structured interview with the principal.
Analysis and report
The practice is scored, valued today and valued with the work done. The report is delivered within ten working days of the interview.
Review call
An hour on the findings, the two valuations and the first move. Advisory support beyond the assessment is available separately, and only if it's useful.
Owner-led practices with a decision ahead of them
A good fit
- Fees between £500k and £10m (US$650k to $13m)
- Owner-led, one to four principals
- Thinking about succession, sale, investment or a management buy-out within five years
- Or simply wanting to know whether the business is worth what the founder believes
Not a fit
- Practices below £500k (US$650k) in fees, where the score means little
- Practices already in a sale process with advisers appointed
- Practices where Andrew Hartshorn holds a personal board appointment, which Legacis does not assess
Three things people ask first
Is it confidential?
Yes. Nothing identifiable is published. Founding-rate practices contribute an anonymised case to the Legacis library, with the practice's name, location and any identifying detail removed, and you see it before it's used.
What do you need from me?
Three years of accounts, a fee book or pipeline summary, the team structure and the ownership position, then ninety minutes of your time. Most principals gather the material in an afternoon.
What happens after?
You have the report, the two valuations and the five moves. Some owners act on them alone. Some ask for help with one of them. Neither is assumed, and the assessment is priced as a complete piece of work on its own.
Twenty minutes to decide whether it's the right piece of work
Bring your Founder Dependency score if you have one. If it isn't a fit, you'll leave with a clear view of what to change first.