Why Athla loves 409a valuations
February 3, 2026
We keep being hired to do 409a valuations and we love it.
Crikey, it’s the second month of 2026 already. I am working very hard to start thinking in decades rather than months, so I suppose you could say that is month 2 Q1 2026 or think of it as a blip in Q2 of the 21st century!
I like reimagining how to think about time, because when it comes to valuations, we value on a specific day with the full knowledge that in the days before and the days after that value could dramatically change.
Some may say we will discover this big time if there is a shock to the AI trend; this is something I feel is more likely given the Bank of England’s fears about the private debt market. I read somewhere that bubbles only burst when the debt providers draw up their bridges. Some of you may know more that could inform this debate and, if so, do let me know as it matters to us to be on top of this issue.
Why? Because when we value a business, we look at the net present value of all the future value that will be created in the future. To do this we keep a very close eye on what big things could impact on a valuation.
How do we cope with measuring this? We use mathematical formulae that capture both risk and volatility. If you want a detailed explanation, get in touch and we will run a masterclass for you.
In the meantime, why do we love the US market? We are seeing an encouraging increase in engagements for 409a valuations. They are interesting projects, not least because most of our clients are domiciled in the UK for tax purposes. What that means is lots of US citizens want to work for our great UK companies. How cool is that?!
409a and EMI valuations do have distinct differences, and we are on top of that issue.
If you have a client where there is a US citizen (or indeed a citizen from another jurisdiction) working in or around the business who would like to be incentivised with equity, we can definitely help with the valuation aspect of that requirement, using the relevant frameworks for the country where the individual is resident for tax purposes.
