Do you need a broker to sell your accountancy practice?
Sometimes yes, often no. We are a direct buyer, so we have an interest, and you should read this page knowing that. But the comparison below is straight: what brokers genuinely do well, what they cost, and what changes when the buyer is already at the table.
What brokers genuinely do well
A good broker finds buyers you could not find yourself, creates competitive tension between them, anonymises your practice while the field is whittled down, and project-manages a transaction you have never done before but they have done hundreds of times. If your practice is unusual, if you want an auction, or if there is no credible buyer anywhere near you, that service has real value and we would not pretend otherwise.
What the broker route costs
Fees first: in the deals that reach us, the broker's success fee is typically 5% of the transaction value. Published rate cards quote a wider range, some as low as 1%, but we have yet to see one land there in practice; the realistic planning number is 5%, or a fixed fee that can run from roughly one to twenty-five thousand pounds, with engagement fees sometimes payable whether or not a sale completes. One quirk of this market is worth knowing: in many industries the seller pays the broker, but in accountancy practice sales the fee is often charged to the buyer instead. Do not let that make it feel free. A buyer's costs are inevitably priced into what they can pay, so the economics reach the seller either way, and it makes one question more important, not less: whatever the fee and whoever formally pays it, what value is the broker adding for it?
Then the quieter costs. A matching process takes months before diligence even begins, and it works by describing your practice to a wide audience. However carefully anonymised, "a well-established two-partner firm in south Liverpool" narrows quickly in a profession where everyone knows everyone. And at the end of the funnel, the buyer is whoever the process produced, which may or may not be someone you would have chosen for your clients and staff.
What changes when you sell direct
Selling direct to a trade buyer collapses the funnel. You know who the buyer is from the first conversation, so confidentiality is a circle of a few named people under NDA rather than a database. There is no commission or engagement fee anywhere in the deal. The matching months disappear, leaving only the diligence and legal work any responsible sale needs. And you can judge the buyer on evidence rather than a profile: in our case, four North West firms that all kept their name, team and clients when they joined the group.
The honest trade-off is competitive tension. One buyer cannot bid against themselves, which is why our answer is transparency rather than pressure: we explain our reasoning on your numbers, put terms in plain English for your own advisers to test, and if you want to check our offer against a brokered market process afterwards, we will not hold it against you. Good offers survive comparison.
Using a broker? We'll work with them gladly
Nothing above means we avoid brokered deals. You do not need a broker to sell to us, but if you would rather be represented, that is entirely your call, and some of the best-prepared sales arrive through a good intermediary. Our only encouragement to sellers is this: make sure you are buying value, not just an introduction.
In many sectors a broker earns their keep by bridging a gap, guiding a seller and sometimes a buyer who are not financially expert through numbers neither fully speaks. A practice sale is different: everyone at the table is an accountant. That raises the bar for what a broker should add. The good ones earn their fee with preparation: a proper data room, clean and current numbers, realistic pricing guidance, and a genuinely managed process. When a practice arrives with us in that state, deals move quickly and everyone wins, the broker included.
And to any broker reading this: we would like to work with you. Come and agree terms and an operating approach with us up front and we will streamline things at our end so your deals complete smoothly. The one model we politely decline is the warm lead passed along for a substantial fee, where the seller and we then do all the work. Bring a prepared practice and a real process, and you will find us a fast, straightforward buyer to deal with.
The comparison at a glance
| Question | Broker route | Direct to us |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays, and what | Typically 5% of the transaction value (or fixed fees), sometimes engagement fees; buyer-paid fees are priced into offers | No commission, no engagement fee, no listing cost |
| Who is the buyer | Unknown until the process produces one | Known from the first conversation |
| Confidentiality | Anonymised details circulated to a buyer database | A few named people under NDA |
| Time to a real conversation | After listing, marketing and matching, typically months | Days |
| Competitive tension | Yes, if several buyers engage | No; offset by transparent reasoning you can market-test |
| What happens to the firm | Depends entirely on the winning buyer | Name, team and office stay; group carries the back office |
| Best suited to | Unusual practices, auctions, or sellers who simply prefer representation | North West firms wanting certainty, discretion and continuity |
Whichever route you lean towards, instruct your own solicitor and tax adviser early; a sale done properly protects you long after completion. This page is general information about how the market works, not advice, and nothing here is an offer.
Broker or direct: what sellers ask
How much do accountancy practice brokers charge?
In the deals we see, the fee is typically 5% of the transaction value; published rate cards quote figures as low as 1%, but we have never seen it come in that low in practice. Some brokers charge fixed fees instead, from around a thousand pounds to twenty-five thousand pounds, and engagement or search fees are sometimes payable up front. Several brokers charge the buyer rather than the seller, but a buyer's costs are inevitably priced into what they can pay, so the economics reach the seller either way.
Do brokers get a higher price than selling direct?
Sometimes, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise: a well-run competitive process with several motivated buyers can push the headline up. The counterweights are the fee taken from the result, the longer and leakier process, and the fact that the highest headline is often carried by the most aggressive clawback. A strong direct offer with clean terms is a benchmark you can always choose to test against the market.
Can I talk to you and still use a broker afterwards?
Yes, and we would say so without sulking. A conversation with us commits you to nothing and costs you nothing, and knowing what a real local buyer thinks is useful information whichever route you choose. Some owners talk to us, appoint a broker anyway, and come back; both are fine.
Do you work with brokers?
Yes, gladly, when the broker is genuinely adding value: a prepared practice, a proper data room, realistic guidance and a managed process. You never need a broker to sell to us, but if you would rather be represented we will work constructively with yours. Brokers are welcome to agree terms and an operating approach with us up front so deals move quickly; what we politely decline is paying a substantial fee for a warm lead where everyone else does the work.
Can you recommend a solicitor or adviser to act for me?
Yes, we are asked this a lot. We know a number of solicitors, tax advisers and accountants who are experienced in practice sales and happy to act for sellers, and we will gladly introduce you. They act on your side of the transaction, entirely independently of us: we make the introduction and then step out of that relationship.
Which route is more confidential?
Direct, structurally. A broker process works by circulating an anonymised summary of your practice to a database of potential buyers, and anonymity in a local professional community is thinner than it looks. Selling direct means one counterparty, known to you from the first conversation, and an NDA before anything substantive is shared.
Start with the direct conversation
It costs nothing, commits you to nothing, and gives you a real buyer's view to weigh against any other route. We reply personally within two working days.
Judge us on evidence
Four North West firms have joined the group since 2024, and every one still trades under its own name with its own team. Meet them here. Behind them sits 20 years of deal experience: acquisitions, mergers and disposals completed by the directors in their own businesses, including AIM listed companies, and in advisory roles.
Worried about value?
Read our buyer's-eye guide to what a practice is actually worth, including why the multiple is only half the number.
How selling to us works
The full process, from quiet conversation to careful handover: selling your practice.