Business broker fees: Intermediary Fee Index
The median published figure in the Intermediary Fee Index is 5 percent across 4 sources' own pages (range 2 to 10 percent), read 10 November 2026.
4 of the 38 named sources read in full publish a figure; 34 publish none, read 10 November 2026.
The median is unchanged since 23 October 2026 (was 5 percent across 4).
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Synergy Business Brokers, what fees are paid for selling a business | 10 % | 2026-11-10 |
| Hornblower Business Brokers (GB), fees for selling a business | 5 % | 2026-09-11 |
| Churchfield Business Brokers (GB), our fees | 5 % | 2026-09-11 |
| Archstone Business Brokers, what does a business broker charge | 2 % | 2026-11-10 |
The sentence each figure was read from (4)
- Synergy Business Brokers, what fees are paid for selling a business, read 2026-11-10:
We charge a flat fee of 10% for businesses that have a cash flow of $600,000 or less.
- Hornblower Business Brokers (GB), fees for selling a business, read 2026-09-11:
At Hornblower, our fees are £2,500 on engagement, £2,500 on signing of Heads of Terms and 5% on completion of the sale.
- Churchfield Business Brokers (GB), our fees, read 2026-09-11:
Our success fee is 5% on the first £1m of the value our client receives on completion and 3% on anything over £1m.
- Archstone Business Brokers, what does a business broker charge, read 2026-11-10:
For lower middle market businesses in the $1M–$50M range, our fees are lower and structured by deal size, ranging from 2% to 10%.
Read in full, publishes no figure
34 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- Website Closers, how much do business brokers charge, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Crowne Atlantic, how much do business brokers charge, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- East Coast Advisory Team, business broker commission fees, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- 1719 Partners, how much do brokers charge to sell a business, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Eton Venture Services, M&A fees by deal size, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- Millsaps, how much does a business broker charge, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- MidStreet, business broker pricing and fees when selling a business, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- Raincatcher, business broker vs M&A advisor vs investment banker, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Exitwise, business broker fees, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Praxis Rock, sell-side M&A advisory fees, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- CT Acquisitions, M&A advisor fee structure explained, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- CT Acquisitions, how much do M&A advisors charge in 2026, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Founders Advisors, understanding M&A advisory fees, read 2026-10-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Grasemann Group, business broker vs M&A advisor, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Venture North Group, what does a business broker charge, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Auxo Capital Advisors, Lehman formula and M&A advisor fees, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Auxo Capital Advisors, business broker vs M&A advisor vs investment bank, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- HedgeStone, average commission for a business broker, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Revenue Rocket, M&A fees before, during and after close, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Livmo, why an M&A advisor charges a retainer, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Synergy M&A, M&A fee structures: retainer, success fee, Lehman formula, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Advisor Legacy, how to choose the right M&A advisor or business broker, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Biz Advisory Board, how much do M&A advisors charge by deal size, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Website Closers, should I choose an M&A advisor or a business broker?, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Nationwide Businesses (GB), selling - no sale no fee, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Turner Butler (GB), sell your business, no sale no fee, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- TheNonExec (GB), M&A fees to sell your business, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Uscita (GB), fees for selling a business: the complete list, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- ClearlyAcquired, how much do business broker fees cost, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- BizBuySell learning centre, understanding business broker fees, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- Baton, who pays the business broker fee, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- DealRoom, buy-side M&A fees, read 2026-09-11: every candidate on the page was refused
- First Page Sage, M&A advisory fee structure report, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- M&A Community, M&A fees by deal size, read 2026-11-10: every candidate on the page was refused
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
4 of the 38 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 34 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 1 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences), so N counts sources, never sentences; 414 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per intermediary per published engagement - the type it calls itself (broker, M&A advisor, investment bank), the structure (flat percentage, Lehman or modified Lehman scale, retainer plus success fee, work-product fee, minimum), each component's figure and the deal-size band it applies to - and the derivation nobody publishes: the effective all-in fee as a PERCENTAGE OF PROCEEDS at $500k, $2m, $10m and $50m computed across every firm that publishes a structure, the point on the deal-size axis where broker economics and advisor economics cross, how many firms publish a figure at all versus quote-only, and the same curve computed separately for GB (staged fixed fees plus completion commission) and the US
414 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (39)
- Archstone Business Brokers, what does a business broker charge(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Website Closers, how much do business brokers charge(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Synergy Business Brokers, what fees are paid for selling a business(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Crowne Atlantic, how much do business brokers charge(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- East Coast Advisory Team, business broker commission fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- 1719 Partners, how much do brokers charge to sell a business(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Eton Venture Services, M&A fees by deal size(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Millsaps, how much does a business broker charge(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- MidStreet, business broker pricing and fees when selling a business(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Raincatcher, business broker vs M&A advisor vs investment banker(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Exitwise, business broker fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Praxis Rock, sell-side M&A advisory fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CT Acquisitions, M&A advisor fee structure explained(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CT Acquisitions, how much do M&A advisors charge in 2026(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Founders Advisors, understanding M&A advisory fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Grasemann Group, business broker vs M&A advisor(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Venture North Group, what does a business broker charge(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Auxo Capital Advisors, Lehman formula and M&A advisor fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Auxo Capital Advisors, business broker vs M&A advisor vs investment bank(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HedgeStone, average commission for a business broker(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Revenue Rocket, M&A fees before, during and after close(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Livmo, why an M&A advisor charges a retainer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Synergy M&A, M&A fee structures: retainer, success fee, Lehman formula(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Advisor Legacy, how to choose the right M&A advisor or business broker(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Biz Advisory Board, how much do M&A advisors charge by deal size(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Website Closers, should I choose an M&A advisor or a business broker?(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Nationwide Businesses (GB), selling - no sale no fee(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Turner Butler (GB), sell your business, no sale no fee(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Hornblower Business Brokers (GB), fees for selling a business(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- TheNonExec (GB), M&A fees to sell your business(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Uscita (GB), fees for selling a business: the complete list(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Churchfield Business Brokers (GB), our fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ClearlyAcquired, how much do business broker fees cost(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- BizBuySell learning centre, understanding business broker fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Baton, who pays the business broker fee(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- DealRoom, buy-side M&A fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- First Page Sage, M&A advisory fee structure report(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- M&A Community, M&A fees by deal size(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ibba.org(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The median published figure in the Intermediary Fee Index is 5 percent across 4 sources' own pages (range 2 to 10 percent), read 10 November 2026.
4 of the 38 named sources read in full publish a figure; 34 publish none, read 10 November 2026.
The median is unchanged since 23 October 2026 (was 5 percent across 4).
Cite as: "brokervsadvisor.com Intermediary Fee Index", updated 2026-11-11, https://brokervsadvisor.com/datasets/intermediary-fee-index/.
Download the CSV (4 rows, computed 2026-11-11)
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Questions this data answers
What does a business broker charge and what does an M&A advisor charge, on what structure, and at what deal size?
The median published figure in the Intermediary Fee Index is 5 percent across 4 sources' own pages (range 2 to 10 percent), read 10 November 2026.
Where do the figures in the Intermediary Fee Index come from?
Every figure is quoted from its source's own page and dated (last read 10 Nov 2026). 38 named sources were read and 4 publish a figure; the 34 that publish none are recorded as not published, never estimated.