Global Excellence 2020

Acquisition International - Global Excellence 2020 151 Acquisition International - Issue 11 2020 13 Sep20446 Adding Value to Success How much is something worth? Who defines its value? The answers to these questions can create enormous challenges to those in the legal profession, changing the shape of a legal presentation. St James Valuation has risen to this challenge, earning the title of Most Outstanding Valuations Services Provider 2020 – UK in Acquisition International’s Global Excellence Awards. We profiled the team to see how they have managed to achieve such success he legal industry has long faced a very specific challenge, and it came in the form of finding a genuinely independent and conflict free advisor. While it was possible to source an appropriate person from within the Big 4 companies (PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG), often the skills gap between these organisations and other accountancy firms created less than optimal results. St James Valuation was created specifically to fill this role. Since their formation, the firm has become the lawyers’ choice for the valuation of companies, unquoted shares, debt and intellectual property. Their first year has been paved with success, as the team took on mandates from some of London’s most prestigious law firms, FTSE 100 Heads of Legal and ultra-high net worth private clients. Their expertise has seen the team become trusted as expert witness in litigation disputes or as SJE for matrimonial matters. Away from the courtroom, the skills that St James Valuation can provide have been used to guide clients behind the scenes on valuation under Articles or for M&A purposes. Increasingly, their workload has seen the team take on restructuring roles that assist clients in the movement of their assets at fair value, while being sensitive to the risk of creditor prejudice or deemed distributions if at undervalue. St James Valuation has managed to set itself apart with an uncompromising level of collaboration between partner and client. The firm is led by Steve Taylor, who has nearly thirty years of experience of working for an Investment Bank doing M&A and running a Big 4 valuation practice. Combined with court experience and advice from the highest levels of government, clients know they can trust Steve and his team to deliver an exceptional experience. The best marketing is word of mouth, and the firm’s relentless focus on clients means that praise for their services is not hard to come by. To ensure that the team deliver the quality for which they have become renowned, St James Valuation only recruits in small numbers and is very selective with those they finally employ. Recent graduates have come from Cambridge and Bath with backgrounds as diverse as classics to engineering, but what ties everyone at St James Valuation together is strong academics and a client-centric mindset. The close-knit culture of the team allows them to be agile and always meet a request head-on. As the firm becomes more successful, the team will continue to recruit new members and expand its offerings. The team has experience working with start-ups and tech spin outs to value their patents and technology and are looking to leverage this for a separate venture solely dedicated to this space. Company: St James Valuation Name: Steve Taylor Website: www.stjamesvaluation.com T For a firm that has only been in existence for a year, achieving this level of recognition is no small feat. St James Valuation would like to thank all the lawyers and clients who voted for them, and hopes that the team can be counted on to deliver for many years to come. The team has experience working with start-ups and tech spin outs to value their patents and technology and are looking to leverage this for a separate venture solely dedicated to this space. Most Outstanding Valuations Services Provider 2020 - UK