Readiness check
How ready the business looks to a buyer or lender, the questions they would ask, and a 90-day plan. Free during the beta.
Public beta
The digital corporate finance departmentfor UK businesses.
CFO-level insight from the numbers you already have: what your business is worth, what moves that value, and how ready you are to buy, raise or sell. Start with a free two-minute readiness check.
Know your value. Know your next move.
Free during the beta. Takes about two minutes. Your answers stay in your browser.
- Built by a CFO with ten years’ experience
- The check runs in the browser. Answers are not stored
- No advertising or analytics cookies
- Sign-up details held in the UK
How ready is your business for a buyer, a lender or a sale?
Seven questions about the things buyers and lenders look at first. You get a readiness score, the questions a buyer would ask you, and a 90-day plan you can save or send to your accountant. No financials needed and nothing to sign up for.
Available now
Want a number, not just a score?
Send us your last two years of accounts and answer a short questionnaire. Within five working days you get an indicative valuation report: a value range, your normalised profit, the multiple and why, and the drivers that would move it up.
- £1,495, prepared and reviewed by a CFO with ten years’ experience.
- Already working with an accountant? Ask them about Val-U: practices can order reports for their clients.
An indicative valuation for discussion, not a formal valuation for tax, legal or court purposes, and not regulated advice. Prices exclude VAT where it applies. You only pay once you have agreed the scope.
What a buyer checks first
Before they look at your plans, buyers and lenders test a handful of things. Knowing them early gives you time to fix what you can. Drawn from ten years of CFO experience.
Can I trust the numbers?
Late or messy accounts make a buyer discount everything else. Timely monthly numbers and a forecast that roughly matches reality build confidence quickly.
Will the revenue repeat?
Contracts, retainers and regular reorders are easier to value than one-off sales. Expect to be asked how much of next year is already secured.
Who pays the bills?
If one customer is a large share of revenue, the question is what happens when they leave. Spread and contract length both matter.
Does it work without you?
If the owner holds the key relationships and decisions, the buyer is buying a job as much as a business. Handover plans and written processes help.
Where does the margin come from?
Buyers want to know which products and customers make money. Margins that hold up as the business grows are a good sign.
Is the paperwork in order?
Missing contracts, unclear ownership of the brand or code, and informal staff arrangements all slow a deal down and can cost price.
Big decisions, little visibility
Most small business owners make their biggest financial decisions without a finance team beside them.
5.68m
UK private-sector businesses were SMEs at the start of 2025, accounting for 51% of turnover.
Source: DBT, Business Population Estimates 202579%
of small business owners in one survey said they have no exit strategy in place (250 owners, May 2025).
Source: Capital on Tap, via Electrical Times41%
of SME owners in another survey were more likely to consider a sale, exit or refinancing (250 owners, 2025).
Source: K3 Advantage, via Bridging & CommercialThe two surveys are small samples and are directional only.
What is open today, and what comes next
We are building one module at a time, starting with value.
Indicative value range
A value range built from your own numbers, with the drivers that move it. Beta-list members hear first.
After that: monthly CFO-level insight, acquisition modelling and due diligence, and exit preparation, in that order. Exit services will open only once the right regulatory checks and permissions are in place.
Planned pricing
The readiness check is free during the beta. Paid plans are planned for early 2027. Prices are indicative and may change before launch, and annual plans will include two months free.
Free
£0
Available now
- Readiness check
- Basic indicative value range, next in the beta
Value
£49/month
From 2027
- Full indicative valuation
- Value drivers
- Quarterly value monitoring
CFO
£79/month
From 2027
- Everything in Value
- Monthly CFO-level insight
- Value levers, ranked by impact
Acquire
£149/month
From 2027
- Everything in CFO
- Deal modelling
- Valuations from an IM
- Guided due diligence
Prices exclude VAT where it applies. A full year on the CFO plan costs under £950. Exit support for a fixed fee is planned for later. Accountancy practices: see Val-U for practices.
Join the beta list
Next we open indicative value ranges built from your own numbers. List members hear first and help shape what we build. We will only email you about Val-U, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Questions
Is the value check a valuation?
No. It scores how ready your business looks against factors that buyers and lenders commonly weigh, and it gives no pound figure. If you want a pound figure, order a CFO-reviewed valuation report.
What happens to my answers?
The check runs in your browser. Your answers are not sent to us or stored. If you join the beta list, we store only the details you enter in that form.
Is Val-U free?
The value check is free during the beta. Paid plans are planned from early 2027, starting at £49 a month, and beta-list members will hear before any paid plan starts.
Does Val-U replace my accountant?
No. Val-U gives you CFO-level insight from your own numbers so you can make better decisions and have better conversations with your advisers. It does not replace qualified professional advice, and we are building Val-U to work with accountancy practices.
Will Val-U help me sell my business?
That is where we are heading. Exit services, including information memoranda and sale support for a fixed fee, are planned for later and will open only once the right regulatory checks and permissions are in place.
Is this financial advice?
No. Val-U provides general information and indicative analysis. It is not regulated financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Speak to a suitably qualified professional before you make a decision.
Who is behind Val-U?
Val-U was founded by Christopher Eaton, a CFO with ten years of experience, to make corporate finance insight available to businesses that do not have a finance team.
Can my accountant use Val-U too?
Yes. Practices can send clients the free check and apply to our design partner programme. Point them to Val-U for practices.