Validated assets for a £450k acquisition in Q3 2024
We performed an independent valuation for a hardware startup being acquired by a larger UK group. Our report ensured the founders received a 12% higher offer than the initial bid.
CoreSensor Ltd needed a clear, independent check of their assets before selling to a larger UK engineering group. We stepped in to verify their hardware and intellectual property to ensure the sale price was fair. Our work gave the founders the factual evidence they needed to secure a better deal.
The challenge
The buyer's initial offer was £402,000, based mostly on older tax filings and 2023 accounts. This figure missed the value of 14 custom sensor prototypes finished in early 2024 and 4 specialized CNC machines owned by the company. The founders were worried they were leaving money on the table, but they didn't have a professional report to prove it. With only 5 weeks left on their exclusivity agreement, they needed a fast but accurate valuation of their physical and intangible assets in their Bridge of Don workshop.
Our approach
Our team spent 3 full days on-site in Aberdeen. We didn't just look at the books; we checked serial numbers on the 4 calibrated thermal chambers and inspected the maintenance logs for the PCB assembly line. We cross-referenced these 47 individual assets against current market resale data and depreciation schedules. We also looked at the documented R&D hours spent on the 14 new prototypes to put a realistic price on the work done since the last tax year. Honestly, the paperwork was a bit of a mess, so we spent an extra 6 hours just organizing the invoice history for their testing gear.
The solution
We delivered a 22-page asset valuation report that categorised everything into tangible hardware, verified R&D costs, and IP value. This wasn't a generic document. It included photos of the machinery and a line-by-line breakdown of why the current value was £48,000 higher than the buyer's internal audit suggested. We also provided a summary for the mediation meeting, written in plain English so both sets of solicitors could agree on the numbers without back-and-forth arguments over accounting methods.
Results
The acquisition successfully closed in late August at the higher price of £450,000. The founders walked away with an extra £48,000 in their pocket, which more than covered our fees. The buyer accepted the report as a neutral third-party assessment, which stopped the deal from stalling.
Timeline
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July 12, 2024Initial review of the 2023 fixed asset register and R&D logs.
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July 18, 2024Physical on-site audit at the CoreSensor workshop in Aberdeen.
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July 26, 2024Delivery of the first draft 22-page valuation report.
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August 14, 2024Final mediation meeting and deal closure at £450k.
"We knew the buyer's first offer was low, but we didn't have the data to push back. Onbelai found value in our workshop that we hadn't even thought to include in the sale. The report made the final meeting much easier."