Specialist Advisory

Most accountancy work is repeatable: accounts, audits, returns. Then there are the situations that arrive once in the life of a business — two shareholders who can no longer work together, a group that needs splitting before a sale, a valuation that will be fought over in court, a succession question with no obvious answer. These are high-stakes, one-off problems, and they are what our specialist advisory service exists for.

Every engagement is led by a partner, scoped precisely and priced up front. And because Acumon is a full-service firm — accountants, tax advisers and auditors under one roof — the solution draws on every discipline the problem touches, not just the one you happened to call.

When You Need a Specialist Advisor

The common thread in our specialist work is that there is no playbook on your shelf for it. Typical engagements include separating a company between shareholders after a fall-out or divorce; restructuring a group so a division can be sold cleanly; valuing a business for a dispute, a tax event or a matrimonial settlement; turning around a distressed division; and designing a succession route where family, management and employee-ownership options all compete. If your situation doesn't match any service page on this site — that is usually the sign it belongs here.

Business Valuations

We provide indicative valuations for planning and negotiation, and formal valuations robust enough for HMRC, courts and regulators — using earnings multiples, discounted cash flow and asset-based approaches as the situation demands. Valuation work frequently anchors our other specialist engagements: you cannot split, sell or settle what you have not credibly valued.

Demergers and Group Restructuring

Where a business needs to be separated — because shareholders are parting ways, because a buyer wants only part of the group, or because different activities need different homes — we design and execute tax-efficient demergers and reorganisations, obtaining HMRC clearances and working with your solicitors on the legal steps. Handled well, a separation preserves value and reliefs; handled badly, it can trigger tax charges on value that never turned into cash.

Succession and Exit Planning

For owners weighing up how to step back, we compare the real after-tax outcomes of a family transfer, a management buy-out and an employee ownership trust — including Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18% on the first £1 million of qualifying lifetime gains from April 2026, and the 50% CGT relief now available on qualifying EOT sales. The right answer depends as much on people and legacy as on tax, and we advise on both.

Shareholder and Commercial Disputes

When shareholders or commercial parties fall out, the numbers become the battleground. We provide independent valuations, financial analysis and expert support for negotiations and legal proceedings, and — where the parties prefer to settle — the practical compromises that let everyone move on. We work hand in hand with your solicitors throughout.

Financial Modelling and Decision Support

Underpinning much of this work is modelling: integrated forecasts, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and funding models that show what a decision really costs before you make it. Where a problem needs finance leadership on the ground rather than a report, our interim accountant and part-time CFO service can put a senior professional inside your business.

Buying or Selling? Start With Our M&A Team

If your situation is a full transaction — buying a business or selling one end to end — our dedicated Mergers & Acquisitions advisory service runs the complete deal process, from valuation and buyer search through due diligence to completion. Specialist advisory covers the odd-shaped problems around and outside a deal; M&A covers the deal itself. Same partners, same integrated team — we will point you to the right door in the first conversation.

How We Work

Every engagement starts with a scoping conversation, free and without obligation. We define the question precisely, agree deliverables and timescale, and quote a fixed fee before work begins. A partner leads the engagement throughout, pulling in tax, audit and modelling specialists as the problem demands, and coordinating with your lawyers and other advisers so you get one answer, not five opinions.

What You Get With Acumon

• Partner-led engagements with a clearly scoped, fixed fee agreed up front
• Independent business valuations for transactions, tax events and disputes
• Tax-efficient demergers and group restructurings, with HMRC clearances
• Succession and exit planning across family, MBO and employee-ownership routes
• Financial analysis and expert support in shareholder and commercial disputes
• Financial modelling and scenario analysis for high-stakes decisions
• One integrated team of accountants, tax advisers and auditors

Why Acumon for Specialist Advisory?

• Partner J Stuart Thomson is a former private equity principal who advised on a hospital PFI, the Croydon Tramlink debt restructuring and the NATS privatisation
• Full-service firm of Chartered Accountants with 90+ UK-based professionals
• In-house Chartered Tax Adviser for the tax dimension of every engagement

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.