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: published rates across the UK market run from success fees of 1% to 5% of the deal to fixed fees between roughly one and twenty-five thousand pounds, with engagement fees sometimes payable whether or not a sale completes. Where the buyer formally pays the fee, it is priced into the offer; there is no version of the model where the cost falls on nobody.
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.
The comparison at a glance
| Question | Broker route | Direct to us |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays, and what | 1% to 5% success fees 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, no credible buyer nearby | 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?
Published fee information across the UK market shows success fees typically between 1% and 5% of the deal (some capped or tiered), fixed fees from around a thousand pounds to twenty-five thousand pounds, and sometimes engagement or search fees 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.
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.
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.