Valuations Director in London

Company Description: At S&W, we help our clients thrive by simplifying the complex, illuminating new paths, and shaping solutions that make a difference. As one of the UK’s top 10 fastest-growing accountancy firms, we have been a trusted partner since 1881—helping businesses and individuals meet challenges and seize opportunities across generations. Built on expertise and driven by ambition, we provide a comprehensive range of services, including tax and accountancy, advisory and assurance, corporate finance, and restructuring. We are defined by our purpose—to help navigate challenges, unlock potential, and achieve the extraordinary.

What will you be doing? We're seeking a talented individual to join our Valuations team in London. The individual will be responsible for preparing a wide range of valuations for accounting, tax, and commercial purposes, in both contentious and non-contentious circumstances. In addition to business and share valuations, we also prepare valuations of intangible assets (often post acquisition) and incentive scheme awards (e.g. share options and management share plans). This demanding role will allow exposure to a wide variety of clients, sectors and type of work, which will be highly rewarding to an individual who enjoys working on diverse projects and the personal dynamic of working as part of a small team.

As Valuations Director, some of your responsibilities will include:

• Client Service / Client Work: Provide excellent client service at all times and ensure that the customer experience is a priority across your team and that services provided are in line with the group's Conduct Risk framework. Strive to achieve the Exceptional Advisor competencies and status. Manage client relationships. Ensure efficient, high quality pro-active and timely execution of advice and services for your clients.
• Valuations work: Establish and communicate work scopes. Plan and prepare budgets. Perform and supervise technical work and projects. Write and review reports. Build valuation models. Research industry trends, comparable companies and acquisitions.
• Growing the business: Promote and build the group's reputation internally and externally. Contribute to business strategy where relevant to help ensure that decisions put the client first and are commercially viable. Assist your Head of Department (HoD) with PR for your field of expertise. Promote cross‑selling within the group. Build and cultivate relationships with clients and potential clients of the group.
• Quality control, compliance and risk management: Ensure compliance with the group's internal procedures so as not to expose the group to unacceptable levels of risk. Ensure compliance with the group's compliance manual and relevant operating procedures and manuals for your business line. Maintain personal technical competence. Report complaints and potential PI issues for your team/direct reports in line with the group's complaints procedures.
• Financial Management: Monitor and manage chargeable hours, utilisation, recoveries, WIP, billing and lock up for you and your team, ensuring where possible lock up is kept to a minimum and clients are billed regularly. Monitor and manage time recording for you and your direct reports and ensure prompt submission of time sheets. Hold regular financial performance reviews with your direct reports in respect of your client portfolio. Inform the HoD promptly of all WIP and bad debt provisions or any other material issues affecting the financial performance of the department.
• Staff Management & Development: Act as an effective leader in accordance with the Exceptional Leader profile and competencies. Responsible for the day-to-day management of direct reports. Conduct annual development reviews (ADRs) for your direct reports. Act as mentor and help to develop talent in line with the TBS talent programme. Ensure that your own high standards of technical and professional competence are maintained and are developed for other members of your team/direct reports. Ensure that you help to develop strong management and leadership skills in your direct reports.

Qualifications: Educated to degree level or equivalent. A relevant qualification (such as being a chartered accountant) is desirable, although not essential. Extensive experience of valuation methodologies and modelling. History of providing these in a range of sectors and for a number of purposes, including for accounting, tax and commercial purposes. Up-to-date working knowledge of key valuation methodologies and best practice in modelling. Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills – in the creation of our valuation models and in preparing relevant reports, a high competency in these formats is vital to provide a robust and creative output. Demonstrable experience in business development, with a proven track record of winning new clients and developing commercial relationships. An ability to generate contacts within the industry and a willingness to develop such contacts.

Benefits: Competitive salary, private medical insurance, life assurance, pension contribution, hybrid working model (role dependent), generous holiday package, option to purchase additional holiday, shared parental leave, fully funded training towards professional qualifications, cycle to work scheme, eye care support.

We are proud to value the differences that a diverse workforce brings, representative of society and our clients. At S&W we have a wide range of highly active employee resource groups and we’re delivering multiple diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the organisation. It is our commitment to provide a workplace where all colleagues, regardless of identity, background, or circumstance, feel respected as individuals and feel that they can achieve their full potential and work in a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.