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How to value a business or its assets in insolvency
The number you put on a failed company's assets decides whether you make money or overpay. Valuation in an insolvency follows different rules from a normal sale, and getting those rules right is what separates a good buy from a bad one.
Last updated 2026-09-17.
Valuing assets in an insolvency is not about what they cost, what they are worth on the books, or what they would sell for from a healthy business. It is about what they will realistically fetch in a quick, as seen sale, in the hands of an office holder who needs them gone. Understand that, and you can frame a number you can defend. Miss it, and you will either overpay or lose the deal chasing a value that was never there.
Book value is not realisable value
The single most important idea is the gap between two numbers. Book value is what a company's accounts record an asset at, often its cost less some depreciation. Realisable value is what the same asset would actually sell for in an insolvency. The second is almost always far lower than the first, because the sale is fast, often in bulk, with no warranty and to a limited pool of buyers. Never build an offer up from book value. Start from realisable value.
Value asset by asset
The reliable method is to break the business into its asset types and value each one on its own terms. Property, valued against comparable sales. Plant and machinery, on what similar kit sells for at auction, net of the cost to remove it. Vehicles, against published guide prices for their age and condition. Stock, on what you could resell it for and how quickly. Debtors, on how collectable the book really is. Goodwill and intangibles, on whether the business is being kept alive or has already stopped. Add the pieces up, and you have a picture built from reality rather than from a balance sheet.
Get the asset picture on a real company
Insolvency Tracker's asset assessment identifies the assets a specific company is likely to hold and applies historic recovery ranges, so you have a starting value in seconds.
Apply a recovery rate
Because assets rarely sell for their full value in an insolvency, buyers apply a recovery rate to each type, the proportion of normal value it typically fetches. Property tends to recover a high proportion, while plant, stock and goodwill recover far less. These ranges are rules of thumb, not promises, and any real case can fall outside them, but they are how experienced buyers turn a list of assets into a number. Our guide to liquidation recovery rates sets out the typical ranges by asset type.
What moves the number
The same assets can be worth very different amounts depending on the situation. Speed of sale matters, because a forced quick sale fetches less. The pool of buyers who can actually use the assets matters, especially for specialist kit. The cost of removal, transport and storage comes straight off your number and can be large for heavy plant. Whether the business is sold whole as a going concern or broken up changes everything, because goodwill and a working operation are worth far more together than apart. And the secured position matters, because assets subject to an outstanding charge may have to be settled from the proceeds, so see our guide on fixed and floating charges.
From value to offer
Your valuation is not your offer. Once you have an indicative realisation, apply your own discount for the risk of buying as seen, the cost of moving the assets, and the margin you need. What is left is a number you can put to the office holder and stand behind. For anything significant, back your estimate with a professional valuation before you commit, and always speak to the office holder, who knows the real position of the specific assets.
Turn assets into a number
Open a company's asset assessment to see its likely assets, recovery estimates and an offer worksheet you control.
Common questions
How do you value a company's assets in an insolvency?
You start from what each asset would realistically sell for, not its book value, then apply a recovery rate for that asset type to reflect a quick, as seen sale. Adding those up gives an indicative realisation you can build an offer from.
What is the difference between book value and realisable value?
Book value is what the accounts record an asset at. Realisable value is what it would actually fetch if sold in an insolvency, which is usually much lower because the sale is fast, in bulk and without warranty.
Should I get a professional valuation?
For anything significant, yes. A rule of thumb estimate is fine to frame an offer, but for property, specialist plant or a whole business a professional valuation and proper advice protect you before you commit.
Company information, not advice. Recovery ranges are generic historic conventions, not a valuation of any specific company's assets.