Valuation of six primary schools in Reading and Wokingham for company accounts.
Existing Use Value (EUV) assessed using the Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) method.
Education Estate Valuation - Orchard Learning Alliance
6
primary schools in Reading and Wokingham, valued for company accounts.
107,000
sq ft
of education space across 25 acres.
Challenge
Vail Williams was appointed by Orchard Learning Alliance (OLA) to value its expanding education estate following the acquisition of six primary schools. As a growing multi-academy trust, OLA needed accurate, compliant school valuations to support its financial reporting.
With accounts prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards, the trust was required to report the Existing Use Value (EUV) of its operational school buildings using a specialist valuation approach – Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC).
How we helped
- Valuation team provided a structured technical valuation approach tailored to education property.
- Carried out detailed inspections across all six school sites, reviewing buildings, layout and site areas, assessing each property as part of a wider education estate valuation, ensuring consistency across the portfolio.
- Completed a cost analysis to identify value of the ‘Modern Equivalent Asset’ (MEA), applying a rate of obsolescence to determine the Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC), utilising expert knowledge from across our Building Surveying department.
- Analysed rates per acre for land, ultimately calculating ‘Land Value’ of each site.
“For multi-academy trusts like ours, accurate school valuations are essential, not just for compliance, but for strategic estate management, particularly when schools join a Trust and auditors require an up-to-date valuation for the annual accounts. Vail Williams’ understanding of education property, valuation methodology and public sector requirements delivered clarity, confidence and long-term value, they were very responsive and worked seamlessly with our schools.”
Robert Majilton, CFO at Orchard Learning Alliance.
Result
- Delivered a clear EUV split between land value and building value, supporting transparent financial reporting.
- Delivered six fully compliant valuations in line with Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS Red Book standards).
- Provided robust education estate valuations based on EUVs for inclusion in OLA’s company accounts.
- Ensured a smooth audit process for our client, with all reports accepted by the client’s auditors.
- Supported OLA with reliable data to manage and plan its growing school property portfolio into the future.
Get in touch
If you think you may need similar support to that described here, or you would simply want to have an informal chat with a member of our team to discuss your property needs, get in touch.
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